Value list order from a calculated field?

[chlowden]

Hello

I am having trouble trying to get a value list to sort a list of names from a calculated field. In short, I have a value list that looks up a list of names in a seperate table. The field the value list consults is a calculation that creates a full name from adjacent christian and surname fields. In the value list table, I need to log the CONTACT_ID associated with each contact, and I use this value list to show both the CONTACT_ID and the calculated name.

All is well as long as I sort the value list fields on the CONTACT_ID which is not very practical, as I have list of ID numbers with an associated list of names that are not alphabetically ordered. I want is it to sorted by the calculated name field. When I do this, the value list becomes empty. When I change the value list to look up just the CONTACT_ID & the surname (which is not a calculation), it orders it correctly. Therefore, I deduce that a value list cannot sort on the results of a calculation . The question is ... any ideas on a work around so that my calculated field automatically becomes a real text field?

[Reed]

The calculation must be stored, so that it can be indexed. In the calc. dialog for the field, click the storage options... button. make sure indexing is turned on.

If the calculation references related data, summary fields or other unstored calcs., it cannot be stored. If you want to store data which is normally unstored, you must use a lookup or auto enter calc. to place the calculation into a regular field.

But for your case, I assume you're just concatenating names, so as long as your calculated field lives in the same table where the actual name data is, you should be able to store the names.

[chlowden]

Thank you for the info.

In my case, I was already storing the index but while clicking around, I realised that I had forgotten to make the calc result text. It was set to number.

Thank you for pushing me in the right direction & explaining storage.