TIP 55: Sorting Table Data

Sometimes the data you place in an HTML table is perfectly formatted and ordered, but sometimes you need to resort it. For example, you might need to sort a table according to part number or price. The good news is that sorting table data in GoLive is really easy.

Select the table you want to sort (see Tip 52) and open the Table & Boxes palette from the Window menu. Next, click the Sort button in the bottom right corner of the palette to see the Sort Table dialog (Figure 55).

Figure 55. The Sort Table dialog offers several ways to re-order your table data.

Sorting Just the Selection

If you only want to sort part of a table instead of the entire table, select the cells you want to sort before you open the Sort Table dialog.

The sort options include:

• Sort by: You can choose which row or column you want to sort by. You can even designate secondary and tertiary sort criteria with the Then by options.

• Ascending or descending: You can sort alphanumerically in ascending or descending order. If you want the item with the lowest price listed first, you would choose Ascending, and for the highest price listed first, choose Descending.

• Sort Rows or Columns: If you want to sort top to bottom, which is the most common, choose Rows. If you want to sort left to right, choose Columns.

• Sort Selection Only: Sorts only cells you selected when you opened the Sort Table dialog and ignores unselected cells.

• Sort Without Header: Sorts the entire table, except the first row or columnthat is reserved as a header for text labels.

• Sort Whole Table: Sorts the entire table, including the header row or column, even if only part of the table is selected.