How Do I Sort My Search Results?

It is often desirable to sort your search results by something other than the default search order. For example, it might be helpful to sort your search result by key value indicators including:

  1. Forward Citations
  2. Patent Score
  3. Number of Forward 102 Rejections
  4. Length of Claim One
  5. Family Size

Depending on the version of the software you have subscribed to, different columns will be available to you. 

Note:  We highly recommend that in your Preferences, you leave your default sort to Relevance>Descending.  By using the steps below, you can sort your search results while still leaving the Relevance sort as your default sort method.

Sorting Overview Video

Sorting by Clicking the Column Header

Clicking the column header "Published" automatically sorts the results list in descending order (here we would get the patents sorted by date from newest to oldest).  Notice the arrow right next to "Published." If I clicked the column header a second time, it would sort the list in ascending order (by date from oldest to newest).  Clicking the column header will always sort, but it may sort alphabetically, or by date, etc.  How it sorts is dependent upon the data that the column holds and not all columns are sortable in this way. 

The Column Header Menu

Hovering your mouse over any column header brings up a brief explanation of the header (that disappears after approximately 5 seconds), and a down arrow on the right side of the box.  When you click on the down arrow, a context-sensitive menu appears.  You have the Sort Ascending, Sort Descending, and Columns options.  In the image above you see the documents are sorted with those receiving the most forward citations on top.

 

The Learn More Option

When you hover your mouse over any column header, at the bottom of the brief explanation that appears is a Learn More link (1).  Clicking on this link brings up the Column Definitions tab in the Help window.  This tab includes, for example, a definition of the column header and advance syntax examples to help you query the column field code.

The Columns Option

When you hover your mouse over any column header, click the down arrow, and then hover over the Columns option, you will see a list of all the columns available to you on the Search Results grid. Those already checked are the ones you have added by default in your Start-->Preferences. This will be covered in more detail in the next section, but the purpose is to add and remove columns from your Search Results grid on the fly.

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