Sorting a bibliography

[Sue]

Can anyone tell me why I'm having problems outputting a bibliography in the order I've sorted in a hits list?

I have a hits list. I sort it into reference type, author, date and then select bibliography formatter. It appears in the bibliography window sorted in its own particular way - it isn't even consistently alphabetical.

Thanks

[Jon]

If the format you are using calls for a sorted bibliography, that will override the sorted order of the references in the Hits List. Use a format that doesn't sort the bib.

As for sort order -- check to see what is called for in the format you are using. And don't forget that the sort is based on the information in the database, NOT the text in the bibligraphy entry (e.g. the second author will be considered in the sort even if only the first author and 'et al.' is used in the bibliography).

If this isn't the problem, please contact me directly.

Jon
Sonny Software

[matthias]

If the format you are using calls for a sorted bibliography, that will override the sorted order of the references in the Hits List. Use a format that doesn't sort the bib.

Does this mean that if I disable sorting in the format the bibliography will be sorted according to the order in the list view?

I am trying to sort a group of refs by date. But choosing this sort order in list view and unchecking the 'Alphabetize references' box in the 'Bib and Document Option' tab of the formats manager doesn't work. The bibliography is not sorted according to date as it is in the list view.

Where is my mistake?
Matthias

[Jon]

The list view and the bibliography sorts are entirely independent.

The bibliography is output in the order of the hits. When you turn on sorting in the format, it gets the hits (if scanning), sorts the hits, and outputs the bib.

So, if you are NOT scanning, you can get your hits, use the Hits -> Sort Hits List menu option to sort by date, and then output your bib (the format should have sorting OFF, or it will override the sort you just did).

Note that all sorts are alphanumeric. So if your dates have months in them, in front of the year, the sort won't work as you want.

Jon
Sonny Software

[matthias]

The list view and the bibliography sorts are entirely independent.

The bibliography is output in the order of the hits. When you turn on sorting in the format, it gets the hits (if scanning), sorts the hits, and outputs the bib.

So, if you are NOT scanning, you can get your hits, use the Hits -> Sort Hits List menu option to sort by date, and then output your bib (the format should have sorting OFF, or it will override the sort you just did).

Note that all sorts are alphanumeric. So if your dates have months in them, in front of the year, the sort won't work as you want.

Thanks a lot. It works. The Sort Hits command did it.

Matthias

[mreadman]

I realise this is an old thread, and my issue is almost certainly user error. I've entered author names as first name surname without a comma between them, like this:
Allan Snyder
Elaine Mulchahy
Janet L Taylor
D John Mitchell
Perminder Sachdev
Simon C Gandevia

The format preview window looks good:
Snyder, A., Mulchahy, E., Taylor, J. L., Mitchell, D. J., Sachdev, P., & Gandevia, S. C. (2003). Savant-like skills exposed in normal people by suppressing the left fronto-temporal lobe. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience, 2(2), 149-158.

but when I export all 34 hits there's no discernible order - not alphabetical by either name - it just looks random.

I've tried sorting the hits list by author A-Z, but no change.

I'm guessing I need to re-enter the data as surname comma forename, but if there's a quick fix...

[Jon]

Make a COPY of your library and then do a Global Change -> Standardize Names (on the entire library).

Jon
Sonny Software

[mreadman]

Perfect - that did the trick. Many thanks for the speedy response Jon.