Ok, it's time I started mooching off you people and your superior tech and/or logic skills. Or at least get help in uncluttering the disarray that is my mind whenever I try to set up any database.

Here's the situation. I'm trying to create a database for my current chip inventory and any future acquisitions/sales. I'm using the full-featured version of FIlemaker Pro 12 ("Advanced").

In particular I want to classify my chips three overlapping ways and have the database automatically assign each a serial number that contains all three dimensions of classification. The three dimensions are:

1. Chips that are part of one or more "game sets" being assembled vs. chips that are purchased as individual chips. For example, I recently bought 80 $1 "Bud Jones CIC" chips from the Stardust casino to be part of a game set called "Mixed casino BJ #1". I also bought, from a different seller one $5 Stardust chip which will not be part of a game set.

1A. Chips purchased to be part of a game set are sometimes purchased in a group (as in those 80 $1 Stardusts) or individually (I've purchased another 10-15 of that same $1 Stardust, each one at a time.

2. Chips are part of a special collection vs. chips that are not. For example, Both the 80 $1 chips and the one $5 chip are part of a collection named "Stardust." On the other hand, a $100 chip from the Playboy Atlantic City is not a part of any special collection.

3. Chips that are part of multiple special collections. For example those $1 Stardusts are not only part of the "Stardust" collection but also part of a collection called "$1 Vegas".

These are not the only fields by any means, but what I'd like to do is create a unique serial number that (i) reflects all three pieces of information and (ii) automatically adds 1 to that serial number every time I add something else.

For example, one of my special collections is made up of all chips I own that have the "Small Key" mold. So suppose the last two records I entered into the database were (i) a set of 200 $25 chips from the Ponce de Leon casino which will be part of that "Small Key" collection AND part of a game set called "Mixed casino Small Key" AND part of a game set called "Ponce de Leon", and (ii) an individual small key chip from the Sky Harbor casino. (i) was entered using a serial number GS2-SKey-121, and (ii) was entered using a serial number IN-SKEY-092.

Now what I want to happen is to be able open the data entry form for adding to the collection, and upon clicking one or two radio buttons ("Part of game set" and "Individual chip"), and checking checkbox(es) for each collection the chip will be a part of, the database will automatically enter the serial number. So, for example, regardless of how many chips have been entered in between, the next individual small key chip will get entered as IN-SKEY-093.

So my question is this: Can I do this, and if so, how?

(These three dimensions do not exhaust the information that is entered when a record is added to the database, but they are the ones that I would hope to have reflected in my "Wade Serial Number" field.

Thanks.

Wade The CheapAss Mooch.

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