Sorting Data On-Screen
When you are viewing a list of records, there are two ways to sort the records you're looking at: a quick sort on one field, and a more complex sort on multiple fields.
Quick sort on one field
Simply click in the column heading of the field on which you want to sort the data.
Sort on more than one field
You can sort on most fields in the database (you can't sort on Text fields). To do this, click on the Sort button at the top of the window 
. The Sort Editor window opens (this is described in more detail below).
Sort Formats
You can create and save Sort Formats to use in your Publishing Style Sheets or while you are viewing data. Sort Formats can be created by clicking on the Sort button when you are viewing a list of records, or by clicking on the New Sort Format button on the Prefs tab in a Publishing Style Sheet.
The Sort Editor is where you set up Sorts:
- Drag a field from the list on the left and drop it into the area on the right to add it to the Sort Order.
- Add more fields as necessary. For example, to sort first by Country, and then by Last Name:
- Note that it says "Asc." next to the sort field names. This means that the field will be sorted in ascending order (i.e., alphabetically for string fields and numerically for numeric fields). To sort in a descending order, click on the word Asc. to toggle to Desc.
- If you want to save this Sort so that it can be used again (for example, in a Publishing Style Sheet), click the Save button and enter a name for it.
- Click the Sort button to sort the records now.
- Click the Load/Delete button to load an existing Sort or to delete one.
The System Sort Order
In each data table there is a field called SystemSort. When you add a new record, this field is assigned the next number according to the number of records in the current selection. So, it is entirely possible that these SortOrder numbers will contain duplicates. Let's look at this in a meaningful context:
Perhaps your database contains contact details for people working at companies listed in the database. When the company directory is published, all the contacts at each company are listed. but in what order? It isn't alphabetical by last name, or alphabetical by title – it's in a manually-designated order according to each person's position within the company. The System Sort Order can be used to designate this sort order:
- Open up a Company record
- Go to the page that shows the list of Contacts in an included list
- Drag the contact names up or down in the list until they are in the required order
- Catbase automatically updates the SortOrder when each record is moved
- Create and save a Sort Format that sorts on the field, SortOrder
- Select this sort format in your Publishing Style Sheet