Sort Records (New Layout/Report assistant)
In this panel of the New Layout/Report assistant, you select the fields that you want the records sorted by.
The sort hierarchy is determined by the order you specify. For example, to sort by year and then month, choose the Year field first, then the Month field.
If you are creating a report with grouped data and have selected one or more break fields, you see them at the top of the Sort order list with a lock icon. You can't remove them or change their position because the records must be sorted by those fields first for the report categories to display properly.
To |
Do this |
Include a field to sort by |
In Report fields, double-click the fields you want, in the order you want them used in the sort hierarchy. |
Remove fields you've already selected |
In Sort order, double-click the field you want to remove. |
Change the order of the fields to change the sorting hierarchy |
In Sort order, drag the double arrow next to the field name to a new position. |
Change the way FileMaker Pro sorts the fields |
With the field selected in Sort order, click:
|
Reorder the records based on the values in a summary field |
In Sort order, select the non-summary field that you want to reorder based on the values in a summary field. Click Reorder based on summary field, and click Specify. In the Specify Field dialog box, select a summary field. |
Notes
- By default, the field list in the Sort Records dialog box shows only the fields from the current layout. To sort using other fields, return the Specify Fields panel, choose a table from the tables list above the list of fields, select additional fields, then return to the Sort Records panel.
- Data sorts differently in different field types. See Sorting records.
- Repeating fields sort by the value in the first repetition.
- The Reorder based on summary field option lets you sort grouped summary data. Suppose you want to group data by region, then display total sales in each region from highest to lowest rather than alphabetically by region. To do this, you can define a summary field in the file (for example, Total Sales) and group the report by Region in the Organize Records by Category panel of the New Layout/Report assistant. Next include and select the Region field in the Sort order list of the assistant's Sort Records panel, select Reorder based on summary field, and choose the summary field Total Sales in the Specify Field dialog box.
- System formats affect the way numbers, dates, and times sort.
- 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. You can override the default language for a sort and specify a different language. See Options for sorting records. To permanently change a field's default language, see Defining field indexing options.