[Empaine]

I need some help, obviously. How do I alphabetize a list without it
considering the words "the" or "a" or "an". I'd rather not have to resort
the list manually, so any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[JoAnn Paules]

I think you're going to be handling this manually.

--

JoAnn Paules
Microsoft MVP - Publisher

How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375



"Empaine" wrote in message
...
I need some help, obviously. How do I alphabetize a list without it
considering the words "the" or "a" or "an". I'd rather not have to resort
the list manually, so any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[Tom Conrad]

Empaine,

You didn't identify whether your list is a series of typed paragraphs or
whether the list is within a table.

If the list is short, doing the sort manually is possibly fastest.

There are two methods that can be used to alphabetically sort a list of
titles, while omitting the first word of the title, when the first word is
"The", "A", or "An", etc.

Both methods will involve the use of the search and replace function to
temporarily replace the leading words. In the first method we create two
fields and in the second method we mark the leading words as hidden text.

Original Example text:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
A lazy dog.
Brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
The lazy dog.
Fox jumps over the lazy dog.
A quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
The fox jumps over the lazy dog.
A brown fox jumps over the dog.

- Method 1 create a two field structure

Since word can sort by paragraphs and by fields (words) within paragraphs,
we will temporarily re-structure the list so that all of the titles have a
uniform structure. The structure will have two fields. The first field will
either be blank or will contain the non-sorting words e.g., The, An, A, etc.

- Perform multiple search and replace
The user can use either the "replace" or "replace all" functions as they
desire. There are three parts to the replacement string. The "^p" is the word
search and replace symbology for a hard paragraph mark, i.e., the user
pressed the enter key. The second part is the word to omit from a sort. The
plus sign is just a convenient symbol to separate field 1 from field 2.
[ignore the quotes in the following]

Step n) find what: "item to find" replace with: "replacement item"

1) Use the mouse to select the list to be sorted
1a) Replace or replace all occurrences of "^p" with "^p+"

2) Use the mouse to select the list to be sorted
2a) Replace or replace all occurrences of "^p+The " with a "^pThe+"

3)Use the mouse to select the list to be sorted
3a) Replace or replace all occurrences of "^p+A " with a "^pA+"

4) Use the mouse to select the list to be sorted
4a) Replace or replace all occurrences of "^p+An " with a "^pAn+"

5) Use the mouse to select the list to be sorted
5a) Replace or replace all occurrences of "^p+X " with a "^pX+", where X
is the word to omit

Post replacement Example text:
The+quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
A+lazy dog.
+Brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
The+lazy dog.
+Fox jumps over the lazy dog.
A+quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
The+fox jumps over the lazy dog.
A+brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

After all search and replace operations are complete, and the two field
structure is created, it is now time to sort the list.
- Select the list,
- On the Table menu, select Sort.
- Click on the options button
- On the Sort options dialog box, under the "Separate fields at"section,
select other and enter + in the data field. Click Ok.
- Back on the Sort text dialog box, the Sort by drop-down should now show
three options, paragraph, field 1 and field 2.
The sort will be a two-part sort (sort by and then by)
- Perform the sort
Sort by: field 2, Text sort, ascending
Then by: field 1, text sort, ascending

All titles are now sorted by the second word in the title

Sorted text Example
+Brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
A+brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
+Fox jumps over the lazy dog.
The+fox jumps over the lazy dog.
A+lazy dog.
The+lazy dog.
A+quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
The+quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Now perform the search and replace operations in reverse order to get rid of
the + symbols. Remember that some plus symbols start the title, and some plus
symbols act as space characters.

SECOND METHOD - USING HIDDEN TEXT
The second method is similar to the first, in that we use search and replace
except instead of creating data sorting fields, mark the words to omit as
hidden text. The user can use the same replace with items as shown above.

The exception is that font formating must be set for all X words in the
replace with box. Type the S/R variables, then use the mouse to highlight the
x word in the replace with box. Now select the format button, select font,
select the hidden text check box. Click on Ok. Perform the search and
replace. The X words should be marked as hidden text. These words may be
visible after the S/R operation depending on the users settings. To view the
hidden text, select the show/hide icon.

The sort function will sort a paragraph using the VISIBLE words.

Once again, if the list is short is probably quicker to do this manually.
If the list is long then these steps could be a time saver.
--
Tom Conrad

===
"Empaine" wrote:

I need some help, obviously. How do I alphabetize a list without it
considering the words "the" or "a" or "an". I'd rather not have to resort
the list manually, so any assistance would be greatly appreciated.