SetRepeatingVariable ( variableName ; valueName ; startIndex ; endIndex )

Sets a range of variable repetitions to a specified value

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Kevin Frank - Show more from this author
Kevin Frank & Associates
https://filemakerhacks.com

Sample input:

SetRepeatingVariable ( "$$test" ; "green" ; 1 ; 3 )

Sample output:

"green" in reps 1, 2, and 3 of $$test

Function definition: (Copy & paste into FileMaker's Edit Custom Function window)

/* Author: Kevin Frank       Last revised: 11/11/11
    Purpose: For a stated variable name, sets the specified range of repetitions to a specified value
    Example: SetRepeatingVariable ( "$$test" ; 0 ; 1 ; 3 )
    ...(make sure to enclose the variable name in double quotes) 
    ...this will set $$test, $$test[2] and $$test[3] all to 0
*/

Let ( startIndex = Max ( 1 ; startIndex ) ;

    Evaluate ( "Let ( " & variableName & "[" & startIndex & "] = " & 
    If ( Abs ( valueName ) = valueName ; valueName ; Quote ( valueName ) ) & 
    " ; \"\" )" ) 

    & 

    Case (
        endIndex < 0 ; "" ;
        endIndex >= 0 and startIndex >= endIndex ; "" ;
        SetRepeatingVariable ( variableName ; valueName ; startIndex + 1 ; endIndex )
    )

)   //   end let

I do a lot of charting using variable arrays, and frequently I need a placeholder value, such as the word "null", in any array rep that doesn't contain data. I used to populate these placeholder reps using a scripted loop, but with this CF, a single line of code is all it takes.

Comments

		John Leyman, John Leyman Nov 28, 2011
Beautiful! An easy way to reset a global variable.

		Bruce Robertson Dec 4, 2011
Fatal flaw; always hits recursion limit. Original example file posted elsewhere works fine but this part of expression does not match the original. endIndex = 0 and startIndex = endIndex In original file it was: endIndex â‰¥ 0 and startIndex â‰¥ endIndex

		Kevin Frank, Kevin Frank & Associates Dec 4, 2011
Thanks Bruce. Code has now been updated. It must have gotten munged when I pasted it in to submit it here, because as you point out, it was correct in the original version. This time around I'm using ">=" so am optimistic that the problem has been solved. Regards, Kevin

		Bob Dec 8, 2011
So If I SetRepeatingVariable ( "$$test" ; "MyField" ; 3 ; 1 ) It would put the contents of MyField in Rep 3 (only) of the $$test variable?

		Kevin Frank, Kevin Frank & Associates Dec 8, 2011
Not exactly... first off, if you only want to set rep 3, then you want "3 ; 3" as the final two arguments... because the starting and ending reps are both 3. The point is to specify a range of reps. Next, since you've wrapped "MyField" in quotes, it will be treated as a text string, so you would end up with "MyField" in $$test[3], assuming you started with SetRepeatingVariable ( "$$test" ; "MyField" ; 3 ; 3 ) Hope this helps, Kevin

Note: these functions are not guaranteed or supported by BrianDunning.com. Please contact the individual developer with any questions or problems.

SetRepeatingVariable ( variableName ; valueName ; startIndex ; endIndex )

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