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For any sorting, the records to be sorted must be defined and the criteria for sorting must be specified. Typically, the records to be sorted are defined by the presence of a paragraph break or hard return separating one record from the next. The Custom Sort tab of the Sorting Options dialog allows you to specify different record separators. Sorting usually takes place by examining the beginning of the record. However, you can direct the program to examine a different part of the record or "field." Fields within the record can be separated by tabs or by another character such as a comma, forward slash, semi-colon, etc. Suppose for example that the data to be sorted consists of name; address; telephone number (i.e. you have 3 fields that are separated by semicolons) and you want to sort by telephone number. The Custom Sort tab of the Sorting Options dialog would provide the option directing the program to consider fields separated by semicolons and sort according to the third field.
To sort using custom sort options:
| 1 | Determine how you want to define the records to be sorted and which fields you want to use in sorting the records. If you are sorting a block of material rather than the full document, that block. |
| 3 | The Sort Options dialog will appear. If it is not already active, click the Custom Sort tab. |
| 4 | Make the following selections: |
| • | Field Separator Use the drop down list to select the field separator. |
| • | Record Separator Use the drop down list to select the record separator. |
| • | Sort by: Indicate which field you want to use in sorting. You can choose just one field to sort by or you can choose a second field (and a third, fourth, etc.). The program will use the secondary field(s) selected only if the data in the first field is the same. |
| • | Order: Ascending or Descending |
| • | Type: Alphabetical or Numeric |
| • | Characters: Select the number of characters you want the program to take into account in sorting. A higher number of characters will result in more accurate results, but the process of sorting will take a longer time. If the number, you select is too low, the results may not be accurate. For example, if you select 5 as the number of characters to be taken into account, then the program will not be able to distinguish between two lines that have the same first 5 characters. |
| • | Duplicates: Click on the check box if you would like to have duplicates removed |
| • | Entire file: Use the drop down list to select Entire File or Entire File (Copy in New Window) or Selected. The second option will leave the original file unchanged and produce the sorted results in a new untitled file in a new window. The third option will be available only if you selected a block to be sorted in step 1. |
See also:
Sorting: lines/paragraphs
Sorting: tab columns
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