Understanding Sorting

When a report grabs records from a database, the records typically display in an order determined by data type. The sort order that most databases use for records is summarized in Table 8-1.

Table 8-1: The data type order of a database sort

Field Type	Sort Order
Single-character string fields	Blanks Punctuation Numbers Uppercase letters Lowercase letters
Multiple-character string fields	Two letters Three letters Four letters Five letters ... etc.
Currency fields	Numeric order
Number fields	Numeric order
Date fields	Chronological order
DateTime fields	Chronological order Same-date values by time
Time fields	Chronological order
Boolean comparison fields	False values (0) True values (1)
NULL values	NULL values Non-NULL values

Unfortunately, this order is rarely useful. For example, check out Figure 8-1. In this figure, there's a report that pulls records from the Supplier table. Notice that there's no meaningful order as to how the records display (for example, the records don't display in alphabetical order).

Figure 8-1: A report with no sorting order

Luckily, Crystal Reports allows you to sort text, numeric, and date fields in the two following orders:

• Ascending, which means records sort upward (such as from lowest to highest, earliest to latest, first to last, or A to Z)

• Descending, which means records sort downward (such as from highest to lowest, latest to earliest, last to first, or Z to A)

In Crystal Reports, you also have the choice of sorting on only one field (known as single field sorting) or more than one field (known as multiple field sorting). In Crystal Reports, all sorting is handled through the Record Sort Order dialog box.