managing a list

In article , Bill
Steele wrote:

> Variation on the previous question: Is there a way to make a value list
> from a field without having it sorted?

Value Lists are sorted since that (usually) makes them easier to find the
value in a pop-up menu / drop-down list.

There might be a plug-in to display them in a different order, but
otherwise I think the only way is to number (or use letters, dates, etc.),
the values in the order you want them to be displayed. This can be done by
either modifying the data in that field (perhaps with a Calculation field
to retrieve the unnumbered data) or using a second field in the Value List
definition.
e.g.
Cartoon characters in chronological order of their in-show time
periods might be:
01 - Fred Flintstone
02 - Papa Smurf
03 - Yogi Bear
04 - Inspector Gadget
05 - George Jetson

The only problem here is when adding new values you need to be a bit
careful to get the order / prefixes correct, especially if values are
being added by the user.

Helpful Harry )