First of all, let me apologize for not being able to finish the research on the comparison on the keystrokes on the various versions of WordPerfect. I will try to finish in time for the next issue. Secondly, let me take a moment to emphasize how much the Legal Assistants Division has lost with the loss of Chris Levy as an active member of our organization. We look forward to her return as soon as she is through "vacationing." She has done a wonderful job with the TPJ and we will miss her.
I don't know how many of you are organized the way we should be. My office has stacks of paper here and there because my job duties are now so diversified. But organization helps and it could be a bonus. The Sort functions in WordPerfect make it easy for us to alphabetize and organize information in our documents. But a lot of us don't realize that it comes with a special added bonus - a Select option that allows extraction of records to meet specified criteria. Hopefully, the following will help all of us to be better organized and make our lives easier. We need all the help we can get!!!
Sort Types
The Sort feature allows you to put a list in alphabetical or numerical order, ascending or descending. Not only that, but WordPerfect can sort your material in four different ways - by line, paragraph, merge file and table. The difference between these four sort types is determined by the data you want kept together, such as a line, a paragraph, a merge record or a table row. The data that you want to keep together in any of the sort types is called a record. The data in each record is further divided into smaller pieces called fields, lines and words. This allows you to be specific about how you want your file sorted.
I am not going to type in all of the commands to perform a Sort feature but I am going to outline a few tips that will hopefully help you when you are using the commands from your appropriate WordPerfect manuals.
Tip #1
If you type and sort a list of names, extensions and departments, with departments being your third field, and it does not work, it could be because of an inconsistent number of tabs between columns. When typing this kind of list, be sure to set tabs at a specific location before typing the list.
Tip #2-(5.1, 6.0/6.1)
To sort a portion of a document, Block the section of text you want to sort, then press Merge/Sort. You won't be asked for input/output files, and you'll be taken directly to the Sort menu. After performing the action, the block is sorted onscreen, and the sorted block replaces the original block.
Tip #3 (6.0/6.1)
Normally, lowercase letters are placed before uppercase letters when text is sorted. If you are performing an alphanumeric sort and want to place uppercase letters first (such as Computer, computer, Disk, disk) select (5) Sort Uppercase First from the Sort dialog box.
Tip #4 (5.1, 6.0/6.1)
To sort dates, treat the month, day and year as separate words by dividing them with forward slashes (11/13/97) or hard hyphens (11-13-97). For a hard hyphen, just press (Home+Hyphen). If you use a regular hyphen, WordPerfect treats your date as a single number.
Tip #5 (5.1, 6.0/6.1)
Always save your document before sorting. That way, if anything goes
wrong with the sort, you can just clear the screen, retrieve the file and
try the sort again.
WordPerfect 6.0/6.1 also has an Allow Undo feature. If you sort the document
and it does not sort the way you want it to, press the Undo (Ctrl+Z) or
choose Undo from the Edit menu immediately after the sort.
Tip #6
It is possible to have a list of names typed with the first name first,
instead of the last name first. If you want to sort the last names in your
list but some people have middle names or initials or others do not, it
is possible by doing the following. Since the last name is always last,
no matter how many names are in between, simply specify a -1 for the word
to sort by within the sort key. However, there is an exception to this.
Sometimes, you will encounter a name you do not want to sort by the last
word such as "Jr.," "III," or "de la Roux."
In this case when typing the name, place a hard space between words that
should be sorted as one word. For example type Phillip, (Space Bar), J.,
(Space Bar), Phillips (Home+Space Bar), Jr. The two words Phillips and Jr.
are now treated as one word and will sort by Phillips.
Good Luck. I hope these help. I am looking forward to working with Nancy
McLaughlin and looking forward more to seeing her face-to-face. If any of
you have any questions or comments, give me a call. Happy Holidays!!!