Restoring a Sort

The steps for creating a script that restores a sort are almost identical to that for restoring a find.

1. Perform the sort manually

2. Create a script containing the Sort script step

3. The option for Restore and Perform without Dialog should already be checked

4. Click the OK button to accept the script

Restore Sort script in RESTORE.fp5

TIP: When you manually sort your database to prepare for the creation of your script, make sure you have a found set of less than 10 records. If you have a large number of records in your found set, you will need to wait a long time before the sort is done. The sort is no different for restoring in a script whether there is one record or ten thousand records in the found set.

Exercise: Change the restored sort in the Restore Sort script in the RESTORE.fp5 file you downloaded on the first exercise so that it sorts by a new field.

Advanced Exercise: How could you use the Stored Settings dialog to create multiple similar scripts. For instance, let's say you need a script that does a bunch of script steps and then sorts by the Text Entry field. You also need a similar script that does the same bunch of script steps, but then sorts by the Date Entry field. What is the quickest way to make both scripts? The answer is to create the first script, duplicate it and use the Stored Settings (Find/Replace) dialog to change the restored sort order in the duplicated script.