WD: Sort Order Appears to Be Incorrect

ID: Q130223

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1
• Microsoft Word for Windows NT, version 6.0
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

Microsoft Word appears to sort items in the wrong order. Any named items that contain numbers in their names, such bookmarks, macros, or AutoText entries, may appear to be sorted incorrectly.

For example, if you have three bookmarks named Test1, Test2, and Test11, they appear in the Bookmark Name list in the following order:

   Test1
   Test11
   Test2

CAUSE

Word sorts numbers in the same way that it sorts words, that is, one character at a time. For example, Word places all numbers that begin with 1 (such as 12, 156, or 1147) before all numbers that begin with 2 (such as 22, 256, or 2276). If two or more items begin with the same character, Word evaluates subsequent characters in each item to determine which item should come first. For example, Word places 124 before 19, based on the second digit (2 is less than 9, so 124 comes before 19).

WORKAROUND

If you have named items that include numbers, change each name to include a leading 0 (zero). If the Bookmark names are Test1 and Test2 (and one of the items on the list has a two-digit number, like Test11), change the names to Test01 and Test02. Word now sorts them in the expected order.

Keywords          : wordnt macword98 winword ntword macword word6 
Version           : MACINTOSH:6.0,6.0.1; WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a; winnt:6.0
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS winnt
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: March 18, 1999