Patent ID: 7133859

Claim:
In an electronic device having a database of records of different category types, a method of displaying information, said method comprising: a) receiving an indication from a user that selects a first category type of said different category types; b) indexing a sort table with said first category type to obtain a primary sort field and a secondary sort field that have been selected by said user for said first category type, said sort table associating each category type of said different category types with its own primary and secondary sort fields that have been selected by said user, wherein sort fields for each category type are under user control and wherein said first category type has a primary sort field different from that of another category type; c) sorting records of said first category type into a first order that is determined according to said primary and secondary sort fields for said first category type to produce a first sorted list; d) displaying on a display screen of said electronic device at least a portion of said first sorted list, said first sorted list displayed in said first order determined according to said primary and secondary sort fields for said first category type, wherein said portion displayed is formatted automatically with information from said primary sort field for said first category type on the left-hand side of said display screen as viewed by said user, wherein by selecting said primary and secondary tertiary sort fields for said first category type said user controls said first order in which said records are displayed, wherein a record associated both with said first category type and with a second category type is displayed in said first order when said first category type is selected for display and in a different second order when said second category type is selected for display, said second order determined according to primary and secondary sort fields selected for said second category type; e) displaying on said display screen a group of sort instructions stored in said sort table, wherein displayed simultaneously are said primary and secondary sort fields that have been selected by said user for said first category type; f) receiving an indication from said user that selects said secondary sort field from the displayed primary and secondary and sort fields for said first category type; and g) in response to step f), displaying a pop-down list comprising sort fields that can be used for said first category type instead of said selected secondary sort field, wherein said user optionally replaces said secondary sort field for said first category type with a sort field selected from said pop-down list.