# Displaying Multiple Tables Info on a single layout or Portals **URL:** \ **Category:** Questions\ **Tags:** layout-design, layout, filemaker\ **Created:** [May 2, 2026, 7:29am UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/displaying-multiple-tables-info-on-a-single-layout-or-portals/5407 "2026-05-02T07:29:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BohannanRob](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/the.fmsoup.org/bohannanrob/32/3214_2.png) [@BohannanRob](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/BohannanRob)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2026, 7:29am UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/displaying-multiple-tables-info-on-a-single-layout-or-portals/5407/1 "2026-05-02T07:29:08Z")
I am designing an application to track government programs. As a Property Analyst, my job is to manage the Disposition process of government property. There are many steps that take place from creating a "Case", submitting that Case to the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) PIEE System. I have a limited window of time to dispose of this property, managing 4 programs with thousands of property items is not easy. Eliminating dozens of spreadsheets into one relational system is my goal. ISSUE I AM TRYING TO RESOLVE: A Program has a Prime Contractor - Example: Boeing is the Prime Contractor for the FA/18 Super Hornet Program. Every government Program has multiple awarded Parent Contracts, each defining some type of work or a product. Each Contract has multiple Contract Orders (child) attached to each Contract. Every Contract Order will have a Contract Type designation. I would like the process to flow like this: User selects a Program from a drop down or pop-up field. The selection triggers a portal and displays all the major Contracts Selecting a Contract triggers a second portal displaying all the Contract Orders under the parent Contract. I suppose I can build this improperly and have a calc field to concatenate both fields, but that defeats the purpose of a relational design. The primary function of this application is to manage and compile property disposition cases into the government Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE). I want my application to arrange this data for export into an Excel Spreadsheet to submit into PIEE (Spreadsheet attached) I welcome any suggestions, thank you. [PlantClearanceTemplate.xlsx](https://the.fmsoup.org/uploads/short-url/n4SGhnelXPdtIiAVoM0dl7BE0xw.xlsx) (116.5 KB) ![Graph 3](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/fmsoup/original/2X/e/e0b568f719572b94df076dfdaf05846966f431de.jpeg) ![Graph 2](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/fmsoup/original/2X/d/daf57cb37fc6bd71e094056fc209168422ba7d6f.jpeg) ![Graph 1](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/fmsoup/original/2X/0/037d882e7afcd3ca05f58079149603d711da89e7.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![steve\_ssh](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/the.fmsoup.org/steve_ssh/32/160_2.png) [@steve\_ssh](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/steve_ssh)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2026, 6:30pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/displaying-multiple-tables-info-on-a-single-layout-or-portals/5407/3 "2026-05-02T18:30:06Z")
> [@](#): > > ISSUE I AM TRYING TO RESOLVE From reading the above post, it sounds as though you are clear about what you would like to implement, and also have a good organizational sense about the objective. What I haven't been able to tell from the above post, however, is _if there is a specific task at which you feel blocked or stumped_, and if so, what that is. **If there is no such blocker, my suggestions would be:** - Take a few initial steps into building out the UI/UX that you have imagined, and see how it goes. - If you become blocked by not knowing how to do a specific task, formulate _that_ into a question to share with the forum and see what responses and ideas come back. - If it starts feeling as though you are having to go to very complex effort (a subjective term, I admit), take a step back to refresh your view to see if a simpler option might become apparent. In this case, you might start a post describing what you have tried so that others can offer feedback about whether the path seems sound, or might benefit from some kind of adjustment/adaptation. - At the same time as you play around with building out the UI/UX, also spend some of your time working on the export aspect of the solution, so as not to leave that task for last. **Additional Comment:** The solution that you have described sounds like something where FileMaker can be a great fit. There is a long and successful history of using FileMaker to get a workflow beyond using a collection of numerous separate spreadsheets, and my gut feeling is that this could easily be another such case. The only potential that I see for some slightly more advanced work (again, another subjective term), might be with the export feature. The sample template spreadsheet attached to the above post has a number of sheets, and while certainly possible to implement, doing so with a precision match to the exact same structure of the sample looks to me like it would likely require some extra effort that goes beyond a basic FileMaker export. Hope this helps, and good luck! ---
**Author:** ![BohannanRob](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/the.fmsoup.org/bohannanrob/32/3214_2.png) [@BohannanRob](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/BohannanRob)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 3:44am UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/displaying-multiple-tables-info-on-a-single-layout-or-portals/5407/4 "2026-05-03T03:44:38Z")
Steve, Thank you for the response, it does make sense to me. Unfortunately, I am not authorized to be forthcoming on my work, but I think you understand, and I appreciate this. I will continue to work on this and provide an update. ---
**Author:** ![Kirk](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/the.fmsoup.org/kirk/32/2197_2.png) [@Kirk](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/Kirk)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 3:10pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/displaying-multiple-tables-info-on-a-single-layout-or-portals/5407/5 "2026-10-13T15:10:33Z")
Not spent much time in your relationship graph, but from your description (as well as years in the DoD world), it seems - maybe overly simplistic - that a single table, would suffice for most of what you want. Almost all the data elements between programs are the same (same fields) with a fields that identify specific things like programs. A simple FIND in a list view, potentially in a sub-summary format, with card window edits of records when selecting an item from the list, would be the quick path to results. Relational models are all well and good, but I don't see this - again from a cursory outside view - as being something that needs that complexity.