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Sorting records

FileMaker Pro stores records in the order they were added to the file. Sorting rearranges records, so you can view, update, or print them in a different sequence.

You choose the fields whose contents you want to sort by. The first sort field arranges the records based on the field’s contents. The second sort field arranges records when two or more records have the same value in the first sort field, and so on. You can sort records in ascending order, descending order, or in a custom order.

The records remain sorted until you perform a find or sort records by different criteria. When you add a new record to a sorted found set, the new record appears in the correct position in the sort order when you commit the record.

To sort the records in the current found set:

1.	In Browse mode, click Sort in the status toolbar.

2.	In the Sort Records dialog box, choose fields for sorting, in the order you want them sorted.

For details about the sort options in the Sort Records dialog box, see Options for sorting records.

3.	Click Sort.

To quickly sort records by a single field:

1.	Do one of the following:

•	Windows: right-click on the field.

•	Mac OS: while holding down the Ctrl key, click the field.

2.	From the shortcut menu, choose Sort Ascending or Sort Descending. (You can also choose Sort by Value List and select a value list from the submenu.)

For more information about shortcut menus, see Using shortcut menus.

To cancel a sort operation before it is finished:

•	Press Esc (Windows) or Command-period (Mac OS.)

Notes

•	Data sorts differently in different field types:

 

This field type	Sorts data in this order
Text	Alphabetically. Numbers sort by character position. (Example of an ascending sort: 1, 11, 2.) Numbers sort before letters. Non-alphanumeric values before the first word are ignored (unless you change the sort language to Unicode).
Number	Numerically. Non-numeric characters are ignored.
Date	Chronologically.
Time	Numerically. Times using AM/PM are sorted according to their 24-hour-clock equivalent (for example, 8:00 PM is 20:00).
Timestamp	Chronologically. Times using AM/PM are sorted according to their 24-hour-clock equivalent (for example, 8:00 PM is 20:00).

•	Automatic record sorting:

•	occurs when changes to records are committed

•	does not occur while scripts are running or paused

•	Records in a sorted portal are re-sorted whenever the relationship is re-established. (For example, when you browse out of and then back into the record, or change the value in the match field.) See Creating portals to hold related records.

•	Repeating fields sort by the value in the first repetition. See Defining repeating fields.

•	If you import records from another file into a sorted file, the records are not automatically sorted. Instead, the status toolbar shows Semi-sorted. Sort again to incorporate new records in the sort order.

•	System formats affect the way numbers, dates, and times sort. See Opening files with foreign system formats.

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When you define a text field, the default language for indexing and sorting text is determined by the operating system on which FileMaker Pro is running. If you want to override the default language for a sort, select Override field's language for sort in the Sort Records dialog box. (If you want to permanently change the field's default language, select the field in the Manage Database dialog box, click Options, then click the Storage tab and select the default language from the pop-up menu.) See Defining field indexing options.

•	In Table View, you can sort by clicking the field name at the top of a column. You must have Sort data when selecting column selected in the Table View Properties dialog box. See Setting up form, list, and table views for a layout.

•	You can open another window in order to perform different sort requests on the same data. For more information, see Opening multiple windows per file.

•	If you open a file, sort records, and then close the file, the sort order is not saved. For more information about when a database file is saved, see Saving and copying files.

•	You can sort using a “default” language setting or Unicode to have FileMaker Pro ignore language-based sorting rules. For more information, see Choosing a language for indexing or sorting.

•	The longest text string that FileMaker Pro will sort is 100 characters.