## Sorting data

Sorting means placing data in some kind of order to help you find and evaluate it.

When you first insert a database field into your report, the data within the fields appears in the order in which it was originally entered into the database. Locating information in this kind of report is difficult. It is much easier to review or find information when you can see it sorted in a logical format. For example, you may want to have a customer list sorted alphabetically by name or by country.

### Understanding sort options

When you sort, the program asks you to define two things:

- the field you want the sort to be based on (sort field)
- the sort direction.

#### Sort field

A sort field is the field that determines the order in which data appears on your report. Almost any field can be used as a sort field, including formula fields. A field's data type determines the method in which the data from that field is sorted.

Note: You cannot sort on memo or BLOB fields.

Field Type | Sort Order
--- | ---
Single-character string fields | blanks punctuation numbers uppercase letter lowercase letters
Multiple character string field | two letters three letters four letters, etc. For example: "BOB" comes before "bob" "123" comes before "124" " " (blank) comes before "a" "aa" comes before "aaa"
Currency fields | numeric order
Number fields | numeric order
Date fields | chronological order
DateTime fields | chronological order same-date values sorted by time
Time fields | chronological order
Boolean comparison fields | False values (0) True values (1)
Null values | null values non-null values

#### Sort Direction

Direction refers to the order in which the values are displayed, once sorted.

- Ascending
  Ascending order means smallest to largest (1 to 9, A to Z, False to True). The program sorts the records in ascending order based on the values in the sort field you select.
- Descending
  Descending order means largest to smallest (9 to 1, Z to A, True to False). The program sorts the records in descending order based on the values in the sort field you select.

Seagate Software, Inc. http://www.seagatesoftware.com Please send comments to: techpubs@seagatesoftware.com