Word 2002: do not have full sorting capability

[cmc]

I'm running Word 2002 on XP Professional. I want to sort
one column by date and then by time. Date and time are
in the same column. **But** it doesn't appear I have all
of the sorting options. In the drop down box where you
select whether you want to sort by Paragraphs, Words or
something else, my only option is "Paragraph." I don't
have by "Word" as an option, and I need that. Any ideas
why?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

You can't sort on more than one key in the same column. You'd need to split
the column into two.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[cmc]

Then what are they talking about in the following Help
section? Am I misunderstanding it? Because I'm wanting
to do something similar.

______________________________________________________

For example, if a column contains both last and first
names, you can sort by either last name or first name.

Select the column you want to sort.

On the Table menu, click Sort.

Under My list has, click an option.

Click Options.

Under Separate fields at, click the type of character
that separates the words or fields you want to sort, and
then click OK.

In the Sort by box, enter the column containing the data
you want to sort by, and then in the Using box, select
which word or field you want to sort by.

In the first Then by box, enter the column containing the
data you want to sort by, and then in the Using box,
select which words or field you want to sort by.

Repeat step 7 in the second Then by box if you want to
sort by an additional column.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

To my extreme surprise, it is actually possible to do this! If you select
the same column for the primary and secondary sort, then you get additional
options (Word 1, Word 2, etc.). The catch, however, is that your date will
have to be formatted as a "word," and so will the time. So, for example, if
you have "October 21 6:27 PM," you'll have to use a nonbreak space between
"October" and "21" and another nonbreak space between "6:27" and "PM."

If, however, you have a comma between the date and time ("October 21, 6:27
PM") and select the comma as your separator in the options, then the choices
change from "Word 1" and "Word 2" to "Field 1" and "Field 2." Be sure to set
"Date" as the type for both sort keys.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[cmc]

The thing is, before I even posted my message to this
board, I had already tried everything you suggested. No
matter which option I select, primary, secondary
sort...selecting the column...using non-breaking
spaces...I did all of that. Tried using comma as the
separator. Tried telling it to sort with "Text" instead
of "Date." But -- I only get the "paragraph" option.
I've asked our IT guy about it, but he can't figure it
out, either.

cmc

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Did you actually select Column x in both "Sort by" and "Then by" before
trying to select the "Using" setting? I found that the other choices didn't
appear until I had selected the column, and then the choices reflected the
type of data in the column, plus the separator I had chosen.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.