Mike - I think it is likely that there are multiple dictionaries/lists that have been used for inputting especially as many of the older records will have been input in Recorder 3 and now a mixture of Recorder 3 and the lists in CAPITALS (they are the preferred ones I think) plus a few others where they are not in any of the main lists. NB a single Tullie House Recorder 6 database is used for Steve's Collections records and our CBDC Cumbrian records.
If there were lookups available I could sort the list for Steve in Excel by including the dictionary list used in the report?
As S says the order is very important to R6 users - both for CBDC doing data requests and providing spreadsheets of thousands of records so these are comprehensible to an ecologist, and Steve printing out lists of records and tying those to the Collections that are arranged in taxonomic order.
I think the old sort order is possibly preferable, as at least you noticed the odd plant appearing among birds or whatever... i.e. Neither works properly but it was easier to spot issues with the old one and you didn't get this situation of whole taxonomic groups not being sorted? But ideally of course the new organism table would include a sort order too, perhaps the next big job for NHM?!
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Teresa Frost | Wetland Bird Survey National Organiser | BTO
Other hat | National Forum for Biological Recording Council
(Old hats | NBN Board, ALERC Board, CBDC, KMBRC)