Use sort scripts in a solution?

[Skye Ridley]

I want my users to be able to use the Sort function, because it allows them to sort ANY fields in ANY order, and it would take hundreds of scripts to do that.

However, when they go into the Sort screen, they're going to see ALL the fields, including my calc fields, globals, etc. I'm afraid this will be confusing to the nonsophisticated, who will be a large percentage of my users.

Has anyone else tackled this issue? Am I missing something obvious?

Thanks!

Skye

[Vaughan]

Find out what fields they *actually need* to *regularly* sort on - - ask the users, watch them work. Out of the thousands of possible permutations they might only regularly need to sort on three or four fields.

[Skye Ridley]

Thanks for your reply! You're very right; and I've set up buttons to execute sort scripts for the fields I think they'll sort on most often.

However, this is for a solution that will be used by a wide variety of small nonprofit organizations (NGO's). In my experience in that field, one never knows how a user will want to sort.

Darn it, I wish Filemaker would let us specify the field names w/in the scripts instead of forcing us to do that silly preset method.

A friend suggested reorganizing the field names so that all my "special" fields are at the end of the list, and the fields I want the users to see are at the beginning of the list. But somehow that worries me.... what do you think?

Thanks again!

Skye