Running Multiple-Criteria Sorts

A multiple sort allows you to precisely arrange the order of your database records. When you sort more than one field at once, the precedence is based on the order in the Sort Records dialog box. Fields listed first in the box's right-side list will take precedence over fields listed later. Looking at our real estate example, if the Street field is listed before the Number field the records will be first sorted by the street name (A to Z) and then by the address number (1 to 100) (Figure 5.50).

Figure 5.50. By controlling the sort order within the Sort Records dialog box, all Carmel homes appear first (with their house numbers in ascending order), followed by all the Pomona homes.

To run a multiple-criteria sort

1.	Use any combination of the Find, Omit, and Delete commands to first narrow your selection of records to sort. Of course, you can always sort the entire file.
2.	Choose Records > Sort Records (Figure 5.47). Or use your keyboard: (Windows) or (Mac).
3.	The Sort Records dialog box appears (Figure 5.48). Select the left-side field name you want to first sort by. Click the Move button in the middle to place the field name in the right-hand Sort Order list.
4.	Continue selecting field names on the left side and placing them in the right side by using the Move button. Remember: Their relative precedence is set top to bottom. If you need to change the right-side order, click and hold your cursor over the double arrow just left of the field name and then drag up or down. The field name will move, altering the sort order precedence (Figure 5.51). Figure 5.51. To change the sort order, use your cursor to drag the selected field name up or down in the order.
5.	Pick the type of sort (Ascending, Descending, or Custom) for each right-side field name by clicking on the name, then clicking on the appropriate radio button in the lower-left area of the Sort Records dialog box.
6.	When you're ready, click the Sort button or simply press (Windows) or (Mac). The records appear in the sorted order. If you need to adjust the sort order, choose Records > Sort Records again or use your keyboard: (Windows) or (Mac). Since you can unsort with the click of a button, feel free to experiment a bit to get a full sense of how different sorts work.