Ranking Sort Field Values

Most ad hoc report writers know the default sort order (low to high) of the sort function can be changed by using the command HIGHEST.  But did you know you can also specify a rank?   You can even restrict the sort field values by specifying a number.  The syntax is:  RANKED  BY  HIGHEST  #  fieldname

 

For example, the report request below will identify the top 3 employees with the highest paid positions.   To learn more about sorting data, refer to your FOCUS documentation.    

 

Report Request:

ex ac

table file ac

print ac:lastname

ranked by highest 3 ac:basepay

end

 

Report Generated:

 

rank       ac:basepay        lastname

----       ----------        ---------

1          $16,667.00        giraffe

2          $13,166.00        SNAKE

3          $11,900.00        BEAR

 

See also:  Identifying The Most Recent Appointment