Options for sorting records

Use the following options in the Sort Records dialog box to sort records in a particular order. For more information, see Sorting records.


To	Do this
Choose a sort field that is visible on the current layout and sort it according to the selected order	Choose Current Layout (LayoutName) from the tables list, then double-click a field in the list.
Choose a sort field that is in the current layout’s table	Choose Current Table (TableName) from the tables list, then double-click a field in the list.
Assign different sort orders to fields as you add them to the Sort Order list	For each sort field, in the fields list, select a field, select a sort order, then click Move. Ascending order is first to last character in the alphabet for text, lowest to highest for numbers, and earliest to latest for dates and times. Descending order is last to first character in the alphabet for text, highest to lowest for numbers, and latest to earliest for dates and times.
Change the sort order of a field in the Sort Order list (for example, ascending or descending order)	In the Sort Order list, select a field, then select a sort order for that field.
Sort in a custom order, according to the order of values in a value list (for example, in the order months are arranged)	In the fields list, select a field, select Custom order based on value list, then choose or define a value list. (See information about defining a list of values for data entry.) Records with values not in the specified value list will be sorted alphabetically at the end.
Change the order of the sort criteria (for example, to sort first by Region, then by City)	In the Sort Order list, click the double-arrow (to the left of the field name) and drag the field to a new position.
Include related fields anywhere in the sort order	Choose a table from the table list, then double-click a related field in the list. You can place a related field anywhere in the Sort Order list — before, after, or between non-related fields. If there is more than one matching record in the related table, FileMaker Pro will sort by the value in the first matching record in the related table, according to the sort order defined in the relationship. See Working with related tables and files.
Sort related records (rows) in a portal	If your access privileges allow, specify a sort order in the Define Relationships dialog box. See Working with related tables and files.
Remove a field from the Sort Order list	In the Sort Order list, double-click the field.
Remove all fields from the Sort Order list	Click Clear All.
Sort by summary fields For example, to sort sales regions in order from highest to lowest total sales.	See Sorting records by subsummary values.
Unsort the records (return them to creation order)	Click Unsort or, in Browse mode, choose Records menu > Unsort.
Sort records according to a different language than the one used for indexing	Select Override field's language for sort, then choose a language. To change the field's default language for sorting, see Defining field indexing options.
Place a new or changed record that’s in sorted order into the adjusted order after you commit the record	Select Keep records in sorted order. When this checkbox is deselected, new or changed records stay in the same position in the sort order until you perform a find or sort the records by different criteria.
Close the Sort Records dialog box without sorting or saving changes to the sort order	Click Cancel.