PRB: Natural Order of STATES.DBF Not Completely Alphabetic

• Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, versions 2.5, 2.5a, and 2.5b
• Microsoft FoxPro for MS-DOS, versions 2.5, 2.5a, and 2.5b
• Microsoft FoxPro for Macintosh, version 2.5b

SYMPTOMS

When you are viewing the STATES.DBF table in its natural order (no tag used), the states are listed in the alphabetic order of their full names, with the exception of New Jersey and Arkansas.

CAUSE

The FULLNAME tag is not in use.

RESOLUTION

After opening STATES.DBF, set the FULLNAME tag in one of the following ways:

• Type the following command in the Command window:

        SET ORDER TO TAG fullname
  

  -or-

• Set the tag using the menu and dialog boxes:

  1. From the Database menu, choose Setup.

  2. Under Indexes, select States:Fullname.

  3. Choose the Set Order button, then choose OK.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

The STATES.DBF table is provided in all versions of FoxPro. It lists the abbreviations and full names of all the states in the U.S.

In FoxPro for Windows and Macintosh, STATES.DBF is located in the <FoxPro_directory>\SAMPLE\ORGANIZE\DBFS subdirectory. In FoxPro for MS-DOS, it is located in the <FoxPro_directory>\SAMPLE\DBFS subdirectory.

Because all the state records are naturally in alphabetic order except for New Jersey (second to last) and Arkansas (last), it is easy to overlook setting the tag.