Overview

Otuvy QM sorts names alphabetically (alphanumerically) throughout the system. This applies to service location names, sublocation names, section names, service names, area names, and other named records. Understanding how this sorting works will help you name your records in a way that keeps them organized and in the order you expect.

How Alphanumeric Sorting Works

When Otuvy QM sorts a list of names, it compares each character from left to right, one character at a time. This is called lexicographic sorting, and it is the standard way that computers sort text.

This works intuitively for purely alphabetical names:

• Bathrooms
• Hallway
• Lobby
• Stairwell

However, when numbers are part of a name, lexicographic sorting can produce results that feel out of order. That is because the system reads numbers as text characters rather than as quantities. It compares the first digit of each name first, then the second digit, and so on.

For example, if you have sections named 1, 2, 9, 10, 11, and 100, the system will sort them like this:

• 1
• 10
• 100
• 11
• 2
• 9

This happens because "1" comes before "2" and "9" as a character, so everything starting with "1" groups together regardless of how large the number is. The same logic causes 2-digit and 3-digit numbered names to appear interspersed with each other rather than in clean numerical sequence.

Best Practice: Zero-Pad Numbers to the Same Digit Length

The solution is to make sure all numbers in your naming convention use the same number of digits. You do this by adding leading zeros to shorter numbers so that every name has the same total length.

Without zero-padding (sorts incorrectly):

• 1
• 10
• 100
• 11
• 2
• 9

With zero-padding to 3 digits (sorts correctly):

• 001
• 002
• 009
• 010
• 011
• 100

Because every name now starts with the same number of characters, the left-to-right character comparison produces the correct numerical order.

Where This Applies in Otuvy QM

This naming convention applies anywhere you use numbers as part of a name or prefix a name with a number to control sort order, including:

• Service location names (for example, Building 001, Building 002)
• Sublocation names (for example, Floor 01, Floor 02)
• Section names (for example, Room 001, Room 002, or simply 001, 002)
• Service names
• Area names
• Job template names

How to Choose Your Digit Length

Before you begin naming records, think about how many items you expect to have in that category and choose a digit length that can accommodate that count.

• Up to 9 items: 1 digit is sufficient (1, 2, 3)
• Up to 99 items: Use 2 digits (01, 02, 03 ... 99)
• Up to 999 items: Use 3 digits (001, 002, 003 ... 999)

If you are unsure, it is always safer to use more digits than you think you need. Renaming records after the fact to fix sort order is time-consuming, especially for large templates.

Combining Numbers and Text

Zero-padding works just as well when numbers are combined with descriptive text. The key is that the numeric portion of each name must have the same number of digits.

Incorrect:

• Door 1
• Door 10
• Door 2
• Door 9

Correct:

• Door 01
• Door 02
• Door 09
• Door 10

Tips

• Decide on your naming convention before creating records or importing templates. It is much easier to plan ahead than to rename a large number of existing records.
• If you are using an import template to create sublocations, sections, or job templates in bulk, apply zero-padding in your spreadsheet before importing. This ensures your records are correctly ordered as soon as they appear in the system.
• If you have existing records that are out of order due to inconsistent digit lengths, you will need to edit each record name individually to correct them.

Related Articles

• Create a Sublocation/Section Template
• Importing Sublocation Templates
• Importing Job Templates
• Create a Service Location