Sort by Summary Field

[Reid]

Is there anyway to work around the fact that you can't sort by a summary field? I tried creating a new calculation field that equals the summary field but I didn't get the correct values to copy over. Any suggestions?

[comment]

You cannot sort by a summary field, because the summary value belongs to a group of records - not any individual record. What exactly are you trying to accomplish?

[Reid]

I have a summary field that calculates the average parts an employee can sort in an hour. I want to be able to sort by this amount to see who is fastest.

[comment]

See if this helps:

http://www.filemaker.com/11help/html/find_sort.5.23.html#1029044

[Reid]

That's it! I didn't even notice the "Reorder based on Summary field" option when you do a sort.

Many Thanks!

[Wickerman]

See if this helps:

http://www.filemaker.com/11help/html/find_sort.5.23.html#1029044

This looks to be pretty much what I'm looking for too . . . but in my case I'm not making a report -- I just want a simple list view with labels at the top of the columns that sort the records acdordingly. Some are simple text fields from a child table, som are calculations fields, and a couple one or two are Summary fields.

So, I'm thinking I can make a button that scripts a Sort using this "Reorder Based on Summary Field" - yeah?

When I try to arrange the sort, I find I have to put *some* field in the Sort Order, though -- and it can't be the Summary Field itself.

My QUestion: Does it matter which field I select for the sort, since I'm checking the "Reoder baseed on Summary Field" box? I've tried it just using the primary key field, or a simple Name field, and it seems to work okay -- but I always fear unintended consequences.

Or is it this simple?

[comment]

Does it matter which field I select for the sort, since I'm checking the "Reoder baseed on Summary Field" box?

Yes, it does. Summary fields returns summary values for groups of records. You must sort by the group field - only then does 'Reorder based on summary field' make sense: it reorders the groups. If records aren't sorted by the group field, they are not grouped - and there are no groups to reorder.

[Wickerman]

Oh, of course -- now I see! Thanks for replying.

a.