Sad Sorting Situations

Go to the TR_QUERY_ELEMENT system table. Add a row:

Description = Customer_sort_name

Category = Constituent

Data Select = sort_name

Data From = Customer

Data Where = [blank]

Control Group = (Default Control Group)

Single Row = [checked box]

Primary Group Default = [unchecked box]

This gives you the element that sorts by last name the way it appears in the header.

Go to Tools and select Output Set Builder. Choose New Set from the buttons at the bottom of the screen.

Here’s what I’ve added to my query, in the order I have them:

From the Constituent folder:

                Salutation_outside_line1

                Salutation_outside_line2

                Salutation_business_title

From the Address Information folder:

                Address_street3

                Address_street2

                Address_street1

                Address_city

                Address_state

                Address_postal_code

                Address_country_desc

From the Constitutent folder:

                Salutation_inside

                Salutation_sal_type

                Customer_sort_name

I used to have Customer_lname and Customer_fname, but I don’t think that’s useful anymore. I’ve named my query the eloquent “Mailing-Inside Sal-Sort Name.”

The nice thing about queries is that you can put in what you want, in the order you want them, and they pull that way when you run reports or extractions using them. You get to pick mailing date, mailing purpose, and salutation, just as in User Defined Output from a List. You just can’t have your results auto-sort in various ways.

The only gotcha about using sort name is that deceased people don’t have one—although, for me, that’s actually a plus. If I am running a mailing list, this gives me a quick and easy way to catch patrons who should not be there, because they will be at the top of my list, out of alpha order, when I sort.

Lucie

Go to the TR_QUERY_ELEMENT system table. Add a row:

Description = Customer_sort_name

Category = Constituent

Data Select = sort_name

Data From = Customer

Data Where = [blank]

Control Group = (Default Control Group)

Single Row = [checked box]

Primary Group Default = [unchecked box]

This gives you the element that sorts by last name the way it appears in the header.

Go to Tools and select Output Set Builder. Choose New Set from the buttons at the bottom of the screen.

Here’s what I’ve added to my query, in the order I have them:

From the Constituent folder:

                Salutation_outside_line1

                Salutation_outside_line2

                Salutation_business_title

From the Address Information folder:

                Address_street3

                Address_street2

                Address_street1

                Address_city

                Address_state

                Address_postal_code

                Address_country_desc

From the Constitutent folder:

                Salutation_inside

                Salutation_sal_type

                Customer_sort_name

I used to have Customer_lname and Customer_fname, but I don’t think that’s useful anymore. I’ve named my query the eloquent “Mailing-Inside Sal-Sort Name.”

The nice thing about queries is that you can put in what you want, in the order you want them, and they pull that way when you run reports or extractions using them. You get to pick mailing date, mailing purpose, and salutation, just as in User Defined Output from a List. You just can’t have your results auto-sort in various ways.

The only gotcha about using sort name is that deceased people don’t have one—although, for me, that’s actually a plus. If I am running a mailing list, this gives me a quick and easy way to catch patrons who should not be there, because they will be at the top of my list, out of alpha order, when I sort.

Lucie