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.
By default, the records remain sorted until you perform a find or sort records by different criteria. When you add a new record in a sorted found set, or change the data in a sort field of a sorted record, the record appears in the correct position in the sort order when you commit the record. To change the way new and changed records are sorted, see Options for sorting records.
To sort the records in the current found set:
1.
In Browse mode, click Sort in the status toolbar.
2.
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.
2.
3.
From the shortcut menu, choose Sort Ascending or Sort Descending.
For more information about sorting records in Table View, see Working with data in Table View.
To cancel a sort operation before it is finished:
Press Esc (Windows) or Command-period (Mac OS).
Notes
 •
 
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).
 •
 •
 •
 •
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 display 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.
 •
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.
 •
 •
 •
 •
The longest text string that FileMaker Pro will sort is 100 characters.
Topics in this section
Options for sorting records
Sorting records by subsummary values
Sorting records troubleshooting