10 Minute Guide to Schedule+ for Windows 95 - Lesson 13 - Sorting and Grouping Contacts   In this lesson, you will learn how to group and sort information in your Contacts list, and how to insert your contacts into appointments and tasks. Sort Through Your Contacts List After you compile a list of contacts, you will want to be able to sort through the list, especially if itís a long list. When you perform a sort, Schedule+ looks through the database for specific records, fields, and common elements. You can then display those records that Schedule+ finds in a particular order. There are several ways to sort your contacts. Letís start out with a simple sort in your Contacts grid. You can click on any of the column headings in your grid list to perform an immediate sort of data in that column, or field, in ascending order. For example, if you click on the First name column heading, Schedule+ immediately sorts the database alphabetically by first names and displays the records in ascending order (As at the top of the list and Zs at the bottom) as shown in Figure 13.1. The up arrow on the column heading means that you sorted the selected column in ascending order. To sort in descending order (Z to A), press the Ctrl key while you click on the column heading. When you do this, Schedule+ sorts your list in descending order. Schedule+ determines the column headings that appear in your grid by the Group by settings, which youíll learn about later in this lesson.   Figure 13.1 You can sort a Contacts list by last names. That was an easy way to sort your information. There are a couple of other ways you can sort. If you want to sort new entries immediately after you enter them, use the AutoSort command. Open the View menu and select AutoSort. Anytime you type a contact, Schedule+ automatically sorts it as soon as you finish entering it. Yet another way you can sort data is with the Sort dialog box, which youíll learn about next. Go To Donít forget about the Go to box at the top of your Contacts tab. Itís a speedy route to the fields Schedule+ displays on your grid. (Remember, Schedule+ displays the columns you specify with the View, Group by command. Youíll learn about the Group by command later in this lesson.) Ascending or Descending? When you sort, there has to be some type of order to the list that Schedule+ displays in your grid: alphabetical or numerical. If you sort in ascending order, Schedule+ displays your records from A to Z or from 1 to the greatest numerical value in your list. If you sort in descending order, Schedule+ reverses the order alphabetically or numerically. Sorting with the Sort Dialog Box Now try another sort, this time using more details. When you sort with the Sort dialog box, you have the option of sorting by three levels and by several categories. In addition to these options, you can choose to view the sort in ascending or descending order. In each level, you can click on the drop-down arrow to reveal the category by which you wish to conduct the sort. All of the categories Schedule+ displays in the drop-down list are actually fields from your Contacts tab. The Sort feature enables you to choose to sort by any field available on the Contacts tab or the Contact dialog box. You can use the Sort dialog box to be very specific about how Schedule+ displays your contacts in the grid list. For example, perhaps you want to sort your Contacts list by ZIP code (called postal code in Schedule+). In the Sort box drop-down lists, you have the choice of sorting by business address postal codes or home address postal codes. Schedule+ has a great deal of flexibility in its sorting capabilities. To sort your contacts using the Sort dialog box, follow these steps: 1. Open the View menu and select Sort. 2. This opens the Sort dialog box you use to determine how you want to arrange the list. You can sort your Contacts list using up to three different levels, shown in Figure 13.2. Select the first sort level. Figure 13.2 Start with the first sort level and select a category to sort your list by. 3. Click on the drop-down arrow in the Sort Contacts by drop-down list to display sort categories, and then choose a category from the list. 4. Continue choosing levels and categories from the Then by drop-down lists to narrow your sort. 5. Click OK to exit the dialog box and perform the sort on your list. Also on the View menu is a Sort Now command that immediately sorts your list based on specifications you set in the Sort dialog box. Grouping Contacts Do many of your contacts share the same information, such as phone numbers or departments? Another thing you can do with your list is group your contacts. For instance, because some of the people on your list work for the same company or same industry, you can group them together. The Schedule+ grouping feature enables you to group contacts in a variety of categories and subgroups. To group contacts, follow these steps: 1. Open the View menu and select Group By. This opens the Group by dialog box, shown in Figure 13.3. Figure 13.3 The Group by dialog box. 2. Open the Group Contacts by drop-down list by clicking the arrow, and select a category with which you want to group your contacts. Schedule+ bases these categories on fields in your Contacts tab. The categories that you choose to group by in your list also determine which columns Schedule+ displays on the grid. 3. Choose additional categories to group by from the Then by drop-down lists. 4. Choose ascending or descending order for each category you select. 5. Click OK to exit the dialog box and display your groups. The grid list now displays the groups that you specified, as shown in Figure 13.4. The group name appears in bold above each group of contacts on the list. Figure 13.4 In this example, I grouped my contacts list by buisness addresses. 6. You can expand or collapse the list in a group by clicking on the group symbol (the tiny box) in front of the group name. A minus sign in the tiny box in front of the group name means that every contact is visible. A plus sign in the tiny box means that every contact pertaining to the group name is hidden. Click on the plus or minus sign to show or hide contacts listed under the group name. 7. To ungroup your Contacts list, open the Group by dialog box again, this time selecting None for each Group by category. Using Contact Information in Appointments or Tasks After compiling a list of contacts, you can use the Contacts list to schedule appointments or tasks to use with the other Schedule+ features. For example, you can select a contact from your list and use the information about the contact to create an appointment on your daily schedule. To use contact information to schedule an appointment, follow the steps below: 1. Select the contact with whom you want schedule an appointment. 2. Right-click to open the shortcut menu and choose Appt. from Contact. 3. The Appointment dialog box appears on-screen, as shown in Figure 13.5. The Description box shows your contactís name and company. Set a time and date for the appointment. Figure 13.5 The Appointmaent dialog box. 4. Click OK to exit the dialog box, and Schedule+ inserts the appointment in your schedule. To use contact information in a task, follow these steps: 1. Select the contact about whom you need information for a task on your To Do list. 2. Right-click to open the shortcut menu and choose Task from Contact. 3. The Task dialog box appears on-screen, and its Description box shows your contactís name and company. Add any options you want to include in the task, such as an end date or reminder. 4. If the task is related to a specific project, identify that project heading with the Project drop-down list. 5. Click OK to exit the dialog box, and Schedule+ adds the contact information to the task on your To Do list. Dial íEm Up! You may notice a tiny phone icon in the Contacts tab or in the Contact dialog box. This is the Dial Phone button, and itís part of the Phone Dialer feature, a Windows 95 accessory program. The Dial Phone button enables you to use your computer modem to call your contactís modem or fax machine. You can use the little phone symbols that appear next to phone numbers to dial up your contacts. Just click on the Dial Phone button, and your computer starts dialing for you, as shown in Figure 13.6.   Figure 13.6 The Dial Phone button automatically starts dialing with your modem. Your phone must be hooked up to a modem for this to work. You also need to make sure your modem is set up properly. (You can set up the modem settings in the Windows 95 Control Panel. Just click on the Modems icon to open up the options.) To open the Windows 95 Phone Dialer feature, open the Accessories menu and select Phone Dialer. You can also dial your contacts directly with the Phone Dialer window. Warning! The Dial Phone button does not enable you to place ordinary phone calls. You can only make calls using your computerís modem. In this lesson, you learned how to work with your Contacts list, grouping and sorting the list and using the Phone Dialer feature. In the next lesson, youíll learn how to print portions of your schedule.

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