Convert numbers in text field to numbers in number field

[Richard Thomas]

I have a database of 185 records.  The record numbers are currently in a text field 'record no', Indexed, Auto-enter Serial, Required Value and Unique.  When I sort on record no, the order result is not serial but reads the first digit, so record no 3 is followed by record no 30, then 31, etc, 39 is followed by 4, etc, as it should in a text field.  However, I want to sort 1 - 180, so presumably need to change the field from text to numbers.  How can I do this without losing the data?

 

[comment]

Changing the field's type to Number should not cause any loss of data. If you're worried, keep a backup (you should always have one, regardless).

Note that simply unsorting the records will arrange them in creation order, which should accomplish the same thing.

 

[Richard Thomas]

Thanks.  That's really helpful.