Microsoft KB Archive/28556

= Microsoft Knowledge Base =

File: Report Not Updating New Sort Criteria
Last reviewed: October 26, 1994

Article ID: Q28556

Summary:

In Microsoft File, once a report uses certain sort specifications (created by dragging fields to the &quot;sorted&quot; area in the report), changing the sort order in the data file itself will not change the sort order of the report.

File allows sorting of a report two ways. If no sort criteria are specified for the report, the report will be printed in the order in which the database is sorted. If sort criteria are specified for the report, the database sort order will be ignored, and the report will print in the order specified by the report sort criteria.

More Information:

There are two ways to update the sort order in a report: open a new report or change the existing report.

Method 1
To open a new report that will reflect the changes made in the data file, do the following:


 * 1) From the Organize menu, choose Report.
 * 2) From the File menu, choose New Report. Your report will be updated to show all changes made in the data file.

Method 2
To change the existing report to reflect new sort criteria, rearrange the fields in the report so that the fields to be sorted appear in order in the sorted area.

For example, if the report should be sorted by &quot;Last Name&quot; then &quot;First Name&quot;, do the following steps (even if &quot;Last Name&quot; is specified as the first sort criterion in the Sort Dialog Box in the data file):


 * 1) Drag the &quot;Last Name&quot; field to the first position in the sorted area.
 * 2) Next, drag the &quot;First Name&quot; field so it is in the second position in the sorted area.
 * 3) Drag any remaining field names out of the sorted area into the &quot;not sorted&quot; area of the report window. When this report is previewed or printed, it will reflect the changes.