Multiple db

This is a technique explained in an article on the developer’s site called “Multiple Databases” with Participants Database

What we are trying to do with the “multiple database” simulation is keep more than one type of record in the single database. We tell them apart using a database field (called “type”) that tells us what kind of record it is. In the example there are two: players and parents. So in each record, the “type” value will be either “parent” or “player”

If you want to see all the players in a list, you need to filter the “type” value with “player”

The “groups” are groups of fields in the database. We use the groups as a convenient way to manage the fact that each type of record is going to need some different fields. The “contact” group is common to all types, and the other two groups are specific to each type.

So, for example, when we want to see a list of the players info, we only need to show the “contact” and “player” field groups.

If we are showing a parent’s info, we will show only the “contact” and “parent” groups.

This is controlled in the shortcode as explained in the article.

The new user interface for managing database field is explained here: Managing the Database Fields

The global list display column settings are now on the Manage List Columns page in the plugin admin.

Yes, I think I understand now, the contact, parent and player are not separate records, they just represent groupings within the same record.

HI Xnau
This post doesn’t look ‘solved’, so hopefully it’s ok to post here with regards to multiple DBs.
I have a slightly different requirement – I think.
We are a car club, and want to have a membership DB under our WP website.
But we’d also like a DB of member’s cars, linked ot the member but it seems to me that a DB of cars is going to be seperate?
The cars would link to the member, but if a car gets sold to another member, then it would link to the new person, but we’d also like to be able to see the ownership history. Another scenario is that the car is sold to someone who’s not a member, and we’d need to accont for that too.
Is this product able to do this?

Many thanks!
Fred Alvrez

Usually it is best to start a new thread when you have a question so it’s easier for other users to find answers.

So, to answer your question, something like this is not currently possible with Participants Database. The “multiple databases” this is thread is discussing is more like two side-by-side databases, while what you need is a “relational” database, where a number of records can be associated with a single record.

If you were to use Participants Database for something like this, you would have your club members be WordPress users, then you can use Participants Database to catalog the cars and associate each car with a user. It takes a bit of work, though, it doesn’t do this automatically. Take a look at this article:

Using Participants Database with WordPress Users