Sorting and Filtering

You can add records to your database in any order. You don't have to insert new records alphabetically because you can have the program itself re-sort all the records for you; you can filter your information to display only selected records.

Sorting Data

You use List view to display all the records in your database. By default, these records are listed in the order in which they're entered. However, you can sort these records by any field in either ascending or descending order. Follow these steps:

1. From List view, select Records, Sort Records to display the Sort Records dialog box.
   
   

2. Pull down the Sort By list and select the first field by which you want to sort.
   
   

3. Select whether you want to sort in Ascending or Descending order.
   
   

4. If you want, repeat steps 2 and 3 to sort on a second or third field.
   
   

5. Click OK.
   
   

Works now re-sorts your database as directed.

Filtering Data

Another option you have in Works Database is to display only those records that match a specific criteria. This is sometimes necessary if your database contains a lot of records and you want to view only a subset of them. This process is called filtering the database, and it's easy to do.

For example, in your movie database you might want to display only Humphrey Bogart movies. You would create a filter that looks for all records containing Humphrey Bogart as an actor and displays only those records.

To create a filter, follow these steps:

1. From within List view, select Tools, Filters to display the Filter Name dialog box.
   
   

2. Enter a name for the filter, and then click OK.
   
   

3. When the Filter dialog box appears, pull down the first Field Name box and select the first field you want to filter.
   
   

4. Pull down the first Comparison list and select a criteria (is equal to, does not contain, and so on) for the filter.
   
   

5. In the first Compare To box, enter the value for the selected criteria.
   
   

6. Repeat steps 4-5 to apply additional parameters for this filter.
   
   

7. Click the Apply Filter button.
   
   

Using the movie database example, if you wanted to display only Humphrey Bogart movies, you'd select Lead Actor as the Field Name, pull down the Comparison list and select Contains, and then enter Humphrey Bogart in the Compare To box. Works Database looks for those records where the Lead Actor field contains Humphrey Bogart and displays only those records.