Troubleshoot sorting

• The type of character that separates words or fields might not have been selected. The separator between Last Name, First Name, for example, is a comma. The separator between First Name<space>Last Name is a space. On the Table menu, click Sort, and then click Options. Select the appropriate separator under Separate fields at.

• If the first row in the column contains header information, ensure that the same separator is used in the header row as in the following rows. For example, if the header row contains Last Name, First name, the last and first names in the following rows should also be separated by a comma such as, Smith, John and Jones, Mary.

• Be sure that you've entered the correct word or field you want to sort by in the Using box in the Sort dialog box. First, enter the column containing the data you want to sort by in the Sort by box, and then select which word or field you want to sort by in the Using box.

• Click Undo Sort on the Edit menu right after the sort is completed.

• Make sure that the multiple-word entries contain the same number of fields and that the entries contain fields in the same order. For example, if you plan to sort by last name, type the entries as Smith, Dr. John and Jones, Ms. Mary. Don't vary the entries, such as "Dr. John Smith," "John Smith, M.D.," Dr. Smith," and "John Q. Smith."

  If you've already typed the entries, you can control the sort order by using a combination of regular spaces and nonbreaking spaces. Type a regular space between fields you want to sort on, and press CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR to insert a nonbreaking space between fields you don't want to sort on. For example, type Dr.<nonbreaking space>John Smith or John Smith,<nonbreaking space>M.D. Then select the list or table, and click Sort on the Table menu. Click Options, and then click Other under Separate fields at. In the text box, type a space, and then click OK. In the Sort by list, click Word 2 (or the field you want to sort by), and then complete the sort as usual.

If you sort the data numerically, numbers that contain hyphens (such as phone numbers or postal codes) might be sorted incorrectly.

Try one of the following solutions:

• Sort the data by text. Select the list or table, and then click Sort on the Table menu. In the Type box, click Text. Finally, complete the sort as usual.

• Replace the hyphens before you sort. Try this option if you want to sort the data numerically. First, use the Find and Replace feature to replace the hyphens with periods (.). Select the list or table, and then click Sort on the Table menu. In the Type box, click Number. Then complete the sort as usual. Finally, replace the periods with hyphens.