When working on developing layouts I gotten to wondering just how is the Display Data From list organized in the Field/Control Setup window? Sometime the list looks just as I have all the fields defined and organized in the custom order I have in Define database window but other times the list is all discombobulated. Does anyone know what criteria does FileMaker uses in organizing that list?

If it is a custom value list where you manually enter in the data, then it will diplays in the order that it is entered in the 'Use Custom Values' entry. However, if the value list references a field then it will sort alphabetically. Does this answer your question?

I'm not talking about the display of the Value List that appears in a field I talking about the list of Fields (the Display Data From window) in the Field Control Setup box . The area I've circled in red in the linked JPG is displaying okay but every once in a while I get a window where the order is all over the place with no clear logic to it.

I can't seem to find or recreate the exact problem I encountered this morning but I am sure it will come up again, quite possibly tomorrow so I'll document it better when it does.