I'm working with a database with 11 tables, in FMP Advanced 9.5 on a  
Mac.

The main 'People' table contains the names and ID numbers (and other  
information) of all the individuals in the database. Because it is  
important that I keep track of any edits to any of the records, edits  
are done non-desctructively. I do this by considering each original  
record (or the last edited version) to be 'current', and since I  
generally only want to display 'current' records the match field  
between all the tables is the concatenation of the ID number and the  
'current' indicator (yes/no). During the edit process the original  
record is duplicated but the 'current' flag is set to 'No', and the  
edit is made to the new record.

The individuals are added to a 'People' table at which time the ID  
number (this is a 'person' ID number and not a serial record ID  
number) is assigned consecutively and the record is set as current.  
All the remaining tables are presented in portals on six tabbed cards,  
several of which contain their own nested sub-cards. The cards are set  
to show data from the 'People' table, while the portals show data from  
the related tables. The match fields for both the 'Individual' field  
and the related field are on the card (with data from the  
'Individuals' table) and in the related portal.

My problem is that despite the fact that the relationships are set up  
to allow record creation in the related table from the 'People' table  
I cannot do so by simply placing the cursor in a field in the portal  
and typing. I get a message telling me that the field is not  
modifiable. I can make it work by including a scripted button on the  
portal row to create a new record in the related table, and everything  
works fine. However, I shouldn't have to explicitly script record  
creation and I cannot figure out what I'm doing wrong.

I'm not certain if this is enough information, but I would appreciate  
any help you might be able to offer.