# Keep split text order

**URL:** https://community.glideapps.com/t/keep-split-text-order/73493
**Category:** Ask for Help
**Created:** [May 19, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/keep-split-text-order/73493 "2024-05-19T18:47:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![Ryan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.glideapps.com/ryan/32/15941_2.png) [@Ryan](https://community.glideapps.com/u/Ryan)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/keep-split-text-order/73493/1 "2024-05-19T18:47:39Z")

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Hi everyone,

I’m working on creating a relationship between words and letters tables.

In the attached example, I attempted to break down the word “BABY” into its individual letters (B, A, B, Y) and establish a relationship with the corresponding letters in order.

However, I’m facing two issues:

1. The related items are being sorted alphabetically, which is not intended.
2. The letter B only appears once instead of twice.

Is there a way to resolve these two issues? Perhaps approaching it differently might help?

Thank you very much!

![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/glideapps/original/3X/8/c/8ca7ecf512030c854c8ffb4845e969175ecd8ada.png)

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### Author: ![Jeff\_Hager](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.glideapps.com/jeff_hager/32/43_2.png) [@Jeff\_Hager](https://community.glideapps.com/u/Jeff_Hager)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2024, 8:59pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/keep-split-text-order/73493/2 "2024-05-19T20:59:33Z")

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That’s not quite how relations work. Relations look for matching rows in the table you are relating to. If the table only has one match then it’s only going to return one result, no matter how many duplicated items in your array have a match. You can’t turn one row into two if the second one doesn’t physically exist.

As for sorting, you can adjust sorting if you use a query column instead of a relation or sort the collection, but you really won’t get what you want if the sort order doesn’t match numeric, alphabetic, or table order.

Might need an explanation of your goal to see if there is a different and better way to approach it. I’m guessing it would involve a helper table and transposing each letter into a row in the helper table. Then you could probably achieve what you want since it would allow for duplicate letters and you would have control over row order.

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### Author: ![Robert\_Petitto](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.glideapps.com/robert_petitto/32/25193_2.png) [@Robert\_Petitto](https://community.glideapps.com/u/Robert_Petitto)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2024, 11:31pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/keep-split-text-order/73493/3 "2024-05-19T23:31:59Z")

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Ya…not sure what you’re looking to do…perhaps convert a word into word art?

> [@Jeff\_Hager](#):
>
> I’m guessing it would involve a helper table and transposing each letter into a row in the helper table. Then you could probably achieve what you want since it would allow for duplicate letters and you would have control over row order.

This is what I was about to suggest as well.