ID: Q121252
The information in this article applies to:
WordBasic (the Word macro language) uses a different ANSI character sort order than that used by the Sort Text command on the Table menu in Word.
Furthermore, the ANSI character sort order differs between Word for the Macintosh and Word for Windows, both for WordBasic and for the Table Sort Text command. In other words, there are four different ANSI character sort orders:
Word for the Macintosh Word for Windows
---------------------- ----------------
WordBasic ANSI character WordBasic ANSI character
sort order sort order (see list below)
ANSI character sort order ANSI character sort order
used by Sort Text command used by Sort Text command
on the Table menu on the Table menu (see list
below)
The specific sort order of ANSI characters is relevant when you write WordBasic macros that compare items based on their sort order. The sort order is quite predictable for alphabetic and numeric characters (for example, A comes before B, 3 comes before 4, and so forth). However, the sort order for the remaining characters is not predictable, so a sort order list is helpful. For example, to determine whether "!" is greater or less than "?", you must refer to a sort order list (or run a SortArray macro to sort the characters).
In Word for Windows, the sort order used by the Sort command on the Table menu is based on an algorithm that considers the international version of both Windows and Word. The following is the logic of the algorithm:
1. If the Windows language class is the same as that used by Word, the
Table Sort command uses the Windows Compare function.
if there is an internal sort table for the language class in Word, the
Table Sort command uses the comparison functionality built into Word.
if there is no internal sort table for the language class in Word, the
Table Sort command uses the Windows Compare function.
The table below lists the ANSI character sort order used by WordBasic as well as the sort order used by the Sort command on the Table menu in Word for Windows.
Table Sort Command Sorting Order WordBasic Sorting Order
ANSI ANSI
Character Code Character Code
--------- ---- --------- ----
(nonprinting) 7 (nonprinting) 1
Tab 9 (nonprinting) 2
Carriage return (line feed) 10 (nonprinting) 3
Line break 11 (nonprinting) 4
Hard page break 12 (nonprinting) 5
Paragraph mark 13 (nonprinting) 6
Column break 14 (nonprinting) 7
Space 32 (nonprinting) 8
Nonbreaking space 160 Tab 9
(nonprinting) 1 Carriage return (linefeed) 10
(nonprinting) 2 Line break 11
(nonprinting) 3 Hard page break 12
(nonprinting) 4 Paragraph mark 13
(nonprinting) 5 Column break 14
(nonprinting) 6 (nonprinting) 15
(nonprinting) 8 (nonprinting) 16
(nonprinting) 15 (nonprinting) 17
(nonprinting) 16 (nonprinting) 18
(nonprinting) 17 (nonprinting) 19
(nonprinting) 18 (nonprinting) 20
(nonprinting) 19 (nonprinting) 21
(nonprinting) 20 (nonprinting) 22
(nonprinting) 21 (nonprinting) 23
(nonprinting) 22 (nonprinting) 24
(nonprinting) 23 (nonprinting) 25
(nonprinting) 24 (nonprinting) 26
(nonprinting) 25 (nonprinting) 27
(nonprinting) 26 (nonprinting) 28
(nonprinting) 27 (nonprinting) 29
(nonprinting) 28 Nonbreaking hyphen 30
(nonprinting) 29 Optional hyphen 31
Nonbreaking hyphen 30 (nonprinting) 128
Optional hyphen 31 (nonprinting) 129
(nonprinting) 128 ‚ comma 130
(nonprinting) 129 Lowercase f script letter 131
(function sign)
‚ comma 130 Low double comma quotation 132
mark
Lowercase f script letter 131 ... Horizontal ellipsis 133
Low double comma quotation 132 Dagger 134
mark
... Horizontal ellipsis 133 Double dagger 135
Dagger 134 ^ spacing circumflex 136
Double dagger 135 o/oo per mille sign 137
^ spacing circumflex 136 < Left pointing guillemet 139
o/oo per mille sign 137 (nonprinting) 141
< Left pointing guillemet 139 (nonprinting) 142
(nonprinting) 141 (nonprinting) 143
(nonprinting) 142 (nonprinting) 144
(nonprinting) 143 ' Single turned comma 145
quotation mark (open single
smart quote)
(nonprinting) 144 ' Single comma quotation mark 146
(close single smart quote)
' Single turned comma 145 " Double turned comma 147
quotation mark (open single quotation mark (open double
smart quote) smart quote)
' Single comma quotation mark 146 " Double comma quotation mark 148
(close single smart quote) (close double smart quote)
" Double turned comma 147 Bullet 149
quotation mark (open double
smart quote)
" Double comma quotation mark 148 En dash 150
(close double smart quote)
Bullet 149 Em dash 151
En dash 150 ~ Raised tilde 152
Em dash 151 TM Trademark 153
~ Raised tilde 152 > Right pointing guillemet 155
TM Trademark 153 (nonprinting) 157
> Right pointing guillemet 155 (nonprinting) 158
(nonprinting) 157 Space 32
(nonprinting) 158 ! 33
! 33 " 34
" 34 # 35
# 35 $ 36
$ 36 % 37
% 37 & 38
& 38 ' 39
' 39 ( 40
( 40 ) 41
) 41 * 42
* 42 + 43
+ 43 , 44
, 44 - 45
- 45 . 46
. 46 / 47
/ 47 : 58
: 58 ; 59
; 59 < 60
< 60 = 61
= 61 > 62
> 62 ? 63
? 63 @ 64
@ 64 [ 91
[ 91 \ 92
\ 92 ] 93
] 93 ^ 94
^ 94 _ 95
_ 95 ` 96
` 96 { 123
{ 123 | 124
| 124 } 125
} 125 ~ 126
~ 126 (nonprinting) 127
(nonprinting) 127 Nonbreaking space 160
¡ 161 ¡ 161
Cent sign 162 Cent sign 162
British pound sign (pound 163 British pound sign (pound 163
sterling) sterling)
Currency sign (in Word, Table 164 Currency sign (in Word, Table 164
End-of-Cell Mark) End-of-Cell Mark)
Yen sign 165 Yen sign 165
¦ 166 ¦ 166
Section sign (double S) 167 Section sign (double S) 167
Spacing diaeresis 168 Spacing diaeresis 168
Copyright 169 Copyright 169
Lowercase a, superscript 170 lowercase a, superscript 170
(feminine ordinal indicator) (Feminine ordinal indicator)
Open guillemet (<<) 171 Open guillemet (<<) 171
Not sign 172 Not sign 172
(soft hyphen) 173 (soft hyphen) 173
Registered trademark 174 Registered trademark 174
Spacing macron (overline) 175 Spacing macron (overline) 175
Degree sign 176 Degree sign 176
Plus-or-minus sign 177 Plus-or-minus sign 177
Superscript 2 178 Superscript 2 178
Superscript 3 179 Superscript 3 179
Acute accent 180 Acute accent 180
Micro sign 181 Micro sign 181
Paragraph sign 182 Paragraph sign 182
Middle dot 183 Middle dot 183
Cedilla 184 Cedilla 184
Superscript 1 185 Superscript 1 185
Ring (volle) or Masculine 186 Ring (volle) or Masculine 186
ordinal indicator ordinal indicator
Close guillemet (>>) 187 Close guillemet (>>) 187
One-quarter fraction 188 One-quarter fraction 188
One-half fraction 189 One-half fraction 189
Three-quarters fraction 190 Three-quarters fraction 190
Inverted question mark 191 Inverted question mark 191
0 48 0 48
1 49 1 49
2 50 2 50
3 51 3 51
4 52 4 52
5 53 5 53
6 54 6 54
7 55 7 55
8 56 8 56
9 57 9 57
A 65 A 65
a 97 A` Uppercase A, grave accent 192
A` Uppercase A, grave accent 192 A' Uppercase A, acute accent 193
a` Lowercase a, grave accent 224 A^ Uppercase A, circumflex 194
A' Uppercase A, acute accent 193 A~ Uppercase A, cedilla 195
a' Lowercase A, acute accent 225 A" Uppercase A, umlaut 196
A^ Uppercase A, circumflex 194 A ring Uppercase A, ring 197
(volle)
a^ Lowercase A, circumflex 226 AE Uppercase AE, ligature 198
A~ Uppercase A, cedilla 195 a 97
a~ Lowercase A, cedilla 227 a` Lowercase A, grave accent 224
A" Uppercase A, umlaut 196 a' Lowercase A, acute accent 225
a" Lowercase A, umlaut 228 a^ Lowercase A, circumflex 226
A ring Uppercase A, ring 197 a~ Lowercase A, cedilla 227
a ring Lowercase A, ring 229 a" Lowercase A, umlaut 228
AE Uppercase AE, ligature 198 a ring Lowercase A, ring 229
(volle)
ae Lowercase AE, ligature 230 ae Lowercase AE, ligature 230
B 66 B 66
b 98 b 98
C 67 C 67
c 99 C, Uppercase C, cedilla 199
C, Uppercase C, cedilla 199 c 99
c, Lowercase C, cedilla 231 c, Lowercase C, cedilla 231
D 68 D 68
d 100 D- Upper Eth 208
D- Upper Eth 208 d 100
Lowercase Eth 240 Lowercase Eth 240
E 69 E 69
e 101 E` Uppercase E, grave accent 200
E` Uppercase E, grave accent 200 E' Uppercase E, acute accent 201
e` Lowercase E, grave accent 232 E^ Uppercase E, circumflex 202
E' Uppercase E, acute accent 201 E" Uppercase E, umlaut 203
e' Lowercase E, acute accent 233 e 101
E^ Uppercase E, circumflex 202 e` Lowercase E, grave accent 232
e^ Lowercase E, circumflex 234 e' Lowercase E, acute accent 233
E" Uppercase E, umlaut 203 e^ Lowercase E, circumflex 234
e" Lowercase E, umlaut 235 e" Lowercase E, umlaut 235
F 70 F 70
f 102 f 102
G 71 G 71
g 103 g 103
H 72 H 72
h 104 h 104
I 73 I 73
i 105 I` Uppercase I, grave accent 204
I` Uppercase I, grave accent 204 I' Uppercase I, acute accent 205
i` Lowercase I, grave accent 236 I^ Uppercase I, circumflex 206
I' Uppercase I, acute accent 205 I" Uppercase I, umlaut 207
i' Lowercase I, acute accent 237 i 105
I^ Uppercase I, circumflex 206 i` Lowercase I, grave accent 236
i^ Lowercase I, circumflex 238 i' Lowercase I, acute accent 237
I" Uppercase I, umlaut 207 i^ Lowercase I, circumflex 238
i" Lowercase I, umlaut 239 i" Lowercase I, umlaut 239
J 74 J 74
j 106 j 106
K 75 K 75
k 107 k 107
L 76 L 76
l 108 l 108
M 77 M 77
m 109 m 109
N 78 N 78
n 110 n 110
N~ Uppercase N, tilde 209 N~ Uppercase N, tilde 209
n~ Lowercase N, tilde 241 n~ Lowercase N, tilde 241
x Multiplication sign 215 O 79
O 79 OE Uppercase OE, ligature 140
o 111 O` Uppercase O, grave accent 210
OE Uppercase OE, ligature 140 O' Uppercase O, acute accent 211
oe Lowercase OE, ligature 156 Ô 212
O` Uppercase O, grave accent 210 O~ Uppercase O, tilde 213
o` Lowercase O, grave accent 242 O" Uppercase O, umlaut 214
O' Uppercase O, acute accent 211 x Multiplication sign 215
o' Lowercase O, acute accent 243 O/ Uppercase O, slash 216
O^ Uppercase O, circumflex 212 o 111
o^ Lowercase O, circumflex 244 oe Lowercase OE, ligature 156
O~ Uppercase O, tilde 213 o` Lowercase O, grave accent 242
o~ Lowercase O, tilde 245 o' Lowercase O, acute accent 243
O" Uppercase O, umlaut 214 o^ Lowercase O, circumflex 244
o" Lowercase O, umlaut 246 o~ Lowercase O, tilde 245
O/ Uppercase O, slash 216 o" Lowercase O, umlaut 246
o/ Lowercase O, slash 248 o/ Lowercase O, slash 248
P 80 P 80
p 112 p 112
Q 81 Q 81
q 113 q 113
R 82 R 82
r 114 r 114
S 83 S 83
s 115 Sv Uppercase S hacek 138
Sv Uppercase S hacek 138 s 115
sv Lowercase S hacek 154 sv Lowercase S hacek 154
Lowercase sharp S (ess-zed) 223 Lowercase sharp S (ess-zed) 223
T 84 T 84
t 116 t 116
U 85 U 85
u 117 U` Uppercase U, grave accent 217
U` Uppercase U, grave accent 217 U' Uppercase U, acute accent 218
u` Lowercase U, grave accent 249 U^ uppercase U, circumflex 219
U' Uppercase U, acute accent 218 U" Uppercase U, umlaut 220
u' Lowercase U, acute accent 250 u 117
U^ Uppercase U, circumflex 219 u` Lowercase U, grave accent 249
u^ Lowercase U, circumflex 251 u' Lowercase U, acute accent 250
U" Uppercase U, umlaut 220 u^ Lowercase U, circumflex 251
u" Lowercase U, umlaut 252 u" Lowercase U, umlaut 252
V 86 V 86
v 118 v 118
W 87 W 87
w 119 w 119
X 88 X 88
x 120 x 120
Y 89 Y 89
y 121 Y' Uppercase Y, acute accent 221
Y' Uppercase Y, acute accent 221 Y" Uppercase Y, umlaut 159
y' Lowercase Y, acute accent 253 y 121
Y" Uppercase Y, umlaut 159 y' Lowercase Y, acute accent 253
y" Lowercase Y, umlaut 255 y" Lowercase Y, umlaut 255
Z 90 Z 90
z 122 z 122
Uppercase Icelandic Thorn 222 Lowercase Icelandic Thorn 254
Lowercase Icelandic Thorn 254 Uppercase Icelandic Thorn 222
Division sign 247 Division sign 247
"Microsoft Word User's Guide," version 6.0, pages 159-161
Additional reference words: winword macword expected wrong word6 sorting sorted alphanumeric symbol symbols 6.0.1
Keywords : kbmacroexample kbwordvba
Version : 6.0 6.0a 6.0c | 6.0 6.01
Platform : MACINTOSH WINDOWSLast Reviewed: February 19, 1998