eTapestry has a name field that lists an account’s First Name and Last Name in the same field. There is no specific first name and specific last name field in eTapestry. As a result, you must use a different field and method to sort accounts based on last name. eTapestry has a special field called Sort Name that can be used to sort accounts by last name.

Sort name is a combination field that automatically populates when you create an account (always allow eTapestry to auto-populate this field unless you have good reason or an operational standard to modify Sort Name). The Sort Name field populates with “Last Name, First Name.” As a result, the sort name field allows you to sort accounts in reports based on the first letter of the account’s last name.

The following is a step by step process to add “Sort Name” to your reports and sort accounts in either A-Z format or Z-A format.

1. Within the report you want to create, search for “Sort Name” from the Available Fields area of the report builder. Sort Name is within the “Commonly Used Fields” section of the Available Fields drop-down, or you can click on the magnifying glass icon and find it by typing “Sort Name” in the search field.
2. Select “Sort Name” to add it to the report. Once selected “Sort Name” is added to the Selected Fields area of the report builder. Now sort name is in the report. However, we need to complete a few more steps in order for our report to sort the accounts based on this field.
3. Click on the “+” symbol next to “Sort Name” within the Selected Fields area.
4. Select either ascending or descending order (i.e. “A with down arrow” or “Z with down arrow”) for the “Sort Order” option. If this is the only Selected Field you will sort with then the “Sort Order” will sort the “Sort Name,” “1st” when generating the report.
5. There are other options for the Sort Name field in the report. You can make this field visible or invisible in the report by selecting or deselecting the eye. You can also change the field order of the report by moving the field up and down the list of Selected Fields
6. After these criteria are selected and programmed in the report builder you can run the report to view the results.

Alphabetizing reports makes them easier to read and it makes accounts easier to find. This process will help you alphabetize your accounts by last name using the “Sort Name” field of the eTapestry database.