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Field Types and Import/Export Formats

This chapter is from the book ๏”€

Knowing Your Data

Besides just knowing the raw statistics and capacities of your software tools ("speeds and feeds," as the machinists like to say), itโ€™s wise to understand the basic data formats with which your database software can work. In this chapter we give a brief overview of each of the underlying FileMaker field data types, and we also discuss the various data formats available for import and export.

First, a word about data types in FileMaker: Unlike certain other database engines, FileMaker is somewhat forgiving about data types. You can add text characters to a number field, for example, without being stopped by FileMaker. The price you pay for this flexibility is the possibility that youโ€™ll make a mistake or permit something undesirable to happen. So itโ€™s necessary to have a firm grasp of FileMakerโ€™s data types, and how each of them works and relates to the others.

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