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MarcEdit

An introduction to the MARC record editing software MarcEdit

Sorting Records Within a Single File

MarcEdit allows users to organize records within a single .mrk file as well as sort fields within records. These steps outline the process of utilizing some of the native sorts within MarcEdit as well as configuring what fields are used for these native sorting, which are managed in the preferences.

  1. Open the .mrk file by selecting it in the folder, which should open the file in MarcEditor, or open MarcEditor from the MarcEdit home screen and select the file in File->Open.
  2. Each datafield will be indicated by “=XXX” notation, which is fully searchable within MarcEditor.
  3. To sort the records within this document, select Tools►Sort by, as below:
  4. MarcEdit gives you two sub-options: Sort Record Order By and Sort Field Within the Record By, the sorting options listed below explained the sorting types. Selecting them from this menu will perform the sort automatically. Those familiar with MARC fields may already know which fields will be used in these native sorts, but the table below will show which field is sorted.

Sort

Fields Used
Author Sorts according to the 1XX$a fields. It will sort according to the UTF encoded byte, which is especially important for foreign characters within the title. Titles with some diacritics will be sorted before a Latin character without that diacritic because the encoded byte value is higher for the Latin character than the value of the letter with diacritics.
Call Number Sorts according to the 090$a field by default. This is an alphanumeric sort, not a “true” call number sort, so it will sort based on the string itself rather than a classification system.
Control Number Sorts according to 001 field in ascending order. It will sort according to the UTF encoded byte, so letters, blank spaces, or symbols within the 001 field will affect the sorting.

Title

Sorts according to 245$a field by default. It will sort according to the UTF encoded byte, which is especially important for foreign characters within the title. Titles with some diacritics will be sorted before a Latin character without that diacritic because the encoded byte value is higher for the Latin character than the value of the letter with diacritics.

0XX Fields

This operations sorts the 0XX fields within each record rather than sort the records themselves.
All Fields Sorts all fields within individual records (does *not* change record position within a file)
Custom Sort Sorts all defined fields within individual records (does *not* change record position within a file)
  1. To change the fields that MarcEdit will use in the sort by, Go to Edit►Preferences, then navigate to the other tab, below:


Then the following dialog box should be opened: 

  1. Select Other on the left-hand side. You should see this screen:

                  

  1. Change whichever field you would like to use as the title, author, or call number field and click “Apply.” 

Sorting Specific Fields Within Each Record in a File

This functionality is designed to have MarcEdit sort specific fields within each record. There is a function in the sort menu that will sort all fields, which will work in some cases, but for more selective sorting the custom sort feature could come in handy.

  1. Open the .mrk file by selecting it in the folder, which should open the file in MarcEditor, or open MarcEditor from the MarcEdit home screen and select the file in File->Open. 
  2. Each datafield will be indicated by “=XXX” notation, which is fully searchable within MarcEditor.
  3. To sort the records within this document, select Tools►Sort by, as below:

                                    

  1. Select Sort Field Within the Record By ► Custom Sort from the menu. The custom sort wizard will appear, as below:

                                               

  1. On the left is a list of fields from 001 to 999, as well as the LDR. The wizard asks you to select which fields you do NOT want to be sorted within the record. As an example use case, I will now sort only the 6XX fields without sorting the others. Rather than enter each field automatically, I will input them as a range.
  2. Enter the range below each element as below:

                                                 

  1. Hit the green arrow pointing to the right.
  2. Below you will see that fields 001-599 have been added to the Exclude Fields column:

                                                  

  1. If you would like to take fields out of the Exclude Fields column, highlight them and click the green arrow pointing to the left. The blue circular arrow (“refresh”) icon will clear the Exclude Fields column.
  2. Once you have finished selecting the fields to be excluded, you are ready to sort. Once you click OK, MarcEdit will sort the fields within the range on the left.