What determines a table's sort order?

Solution (By Examveda Team)

The sort order of a table in Microsoft Access is primarily determined by the Index field or fields. An index is a database object that improves the speed of data retrieval operations on a table. It provides a quick way to look up data based on the values in one or more columns. When you create an index on a field or combination of fields, the database system uses this index to organize the data in a way that makes searching and sorting more efficient.

Option A: An AutoNumber field is used to automatically generate unique numeric values for each record added to a table. While it can help ensure data uniqueness, it does not directly determine the sort order of the table.
Option C: The field order, or the sequence in which fields appear in the table's design, does not inherently determine the sort order of the table. Sorting is generally based on the values within the fields.
Option D: The Primary key is a field (or set of fields) that uniquely identifies each record in a table. While a primary key can also create an index, not all indexes are based on primary keys. An index can be created on any field or combination of fields to improve data retrieval performance.

Therefore, the correct option is Option B: Index field. An index field's values determine the order in which records are sorted when querying the table.