According to the VA FileMan Advanced User Manual, a Pointer to a file is a “field data type that contains an explicit reference to an entry in a file. Pointers to file-type fields are used to relate files to each other.” A backward pointer is a pointer to your current file from another file; it can be used in the extended pointer syntax. (3RC1)
In the VA FileMan Technical Manual, pointer relationships are described as “links between files that are created by the use of the POINTER TO A FILE or VARIABLE-POINTER data types.” (3RC2)