WD97: How to Sort Words Separated by a Space

ID: Q195131

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

This article describes how to sort information that is separated by spaces, such as a list of names.

MORE INFORMATION

To sort information that is delimited by spaces, follow these steps:

1. Confirm that each row contains the same number of fields. For

   example, if you are sorting a list of names and some names include a
   middle initial while others do not, the sort is not completed
   correctly.

   NOTE: If you add a non-breaking space between some fields and use the
   SPACEBAR for others, and then sort on a space, only the space (not the
   non-breaking space) will be used to sort. For example, if you want
   to sort on last names, but your data includes honorifics or middle
   initials, insert non-breaking (CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR) spaces in the
   following positions:

      Dr.<nonbreaking space>Andrew Gray  (This will sort on the space
                                         between Andrew and Gray.)
      Andrew Gray<nonbreakingspace>,MD   (This will sort on the space
                                         between Andrew and Gray.)
      Andrew<nonbreaking space>P. Gray  (This will sort on the space
                                         between P. and Gray.)
2. Select the list.

3. On the Table menu, click Sort.

4. Click Options, select Other, type a space in the text box, and then

   click OK.

5. Click OK again.

   NOTE: This closes the Sort Text dialog box, which will not list all of
   the fields to sort by until you reopen the dialog box.

6. On the Table menu, click Sort.

7. In the Select By list, select Word 2 (or another field you want to

   sort by), choose a Type, select Ascending or Descending order, and
   then click OK.

The list is now sorted by last name.

Additional query words: space delimit delimited blank blanks delimiters 8.0 8.00

Keywords          : kbualink97 kbdta winword word97 
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: February 13, 1999