# String and Float for a multi\_field? **URL:** \ **Category:** Elasticsearch\ **Created:** [January 27, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/string-and-float-for-a-multi-field/15435 "2014-01-27T17:14:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arthur\_Denning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5daacb/32.png) [@Arthur\_Denning](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Arthur_Denning)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/string-and-float-for-a-multi-field/15435/1 "2014-01-27T17:14:27Z")
I have a field that might take string or numeric value, naturally I would want to order it numerically if the values turn out to be number. I tried to map a multi\_field with both string and float, but it would not work if the value is a string. Is there a way to tell elasticsearch to ignore indexing a sub-field (in this case, the float field) if the format does not fit? On the other hand, I know it has been asked before but didn't seem to have a good answer, is there a better way to sort string value numerically? Is there roadmap for this feature? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). To view this discussion on the web visit [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/98f2240e-9fd0-41fe-8daf-0133ab3149df%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/98f2240e-9fd0-41fe-8daf-0133ab3149df%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![Binh\_Ly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce7236/32.png) [@Binh\_Ly](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Binh_Ly)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/string-and-float-for-a-multi-field/15435/2 "2014-01-27T17:51:59Z")
Arthur, Can you try to set "ignore\_malformed": true for your float field and see if that works. Something like this: ``` "foo": { "type": "multi_field", "fields": { "foo": { "type": "string", "index": "not_analyzed" }, "f": { "type": "float", "ignore_malformed": true } } } ``` After that, you should be able to sort numerically on the field "foo.f". -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). To view this discussion on the web visit [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/600e5a53-17cb-4e16-a959-574c45439210%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/600e5a53-17cb-4e16-a959-574c45439210%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![Arthur\_Denning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5daacb/32.png) [@Arthur\_Denning](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Arthur_Denning)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/string-and-float-for-a-multi-field/15435/3 "2014-01-27T18:43:10Z")
Binh, I remember your helpful answer last time. Thanks you again for your help! May I ask you two things more: 1. The doc on sort has a section on cast score for missing values, but is there a simple way or setting to ignore missing values altogether? [Elasticsearch Platform — Find real-time answers at scale | Elastic](http://www.elasticsearch.org/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/search-request-sort.html) 2. Do you think the above is a good way to handle the "sort string field numerically" issue? On Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:51:59 AM UTC+8, Binh Ly wrote: > Arthur, > > Can you try to set "ignore\_malformed": true for your float field and see > if that works. Something like this: > > ``` > "foo": { > "type": "multi_field", > "fields": { > "foo": { > "type": "string", > "index": "not_analyzed" > }, > "f": { > "type": "float", > "ignore_malformed": true > } > } > } > > ``` > > After that, you should be able to sort numerically on the field "foo.f". -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). To view this discussion on the web visit [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/00a200ef-b032-42d4-bf8b-6fc455faf3a5%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/00a200ef-b032-42d4-bf8b-6fc455faf3a5%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![Binh\_Ly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce7236/32.png) [@Binh\_Ly](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Binh_Ly)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/string-and-float-for-a-multi-field/15435/4 "2014-01-28T14:30:28Z")
Arthur, 1. That section is only to tell ES how to order documents when the field is missing. So if you specify for example: If the price field is missing, the document will be pushed to the bottom of the results. But this still does not help when you define multi-fields with numeric type and want to store a non-numeric string value. 1. It sounds fine to me. You don't even need a multi-field if you don't care about the string value. So for example, you can do something like this: And then just sort by "foo" numerically. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). To view this discussion on the web visit [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/7293f0c9-fafe-49b2-96e3-b0f54396b84c%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/7293f0c9-fafe-49b2-96e3-b0f54396b84c%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 1:54am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/string-and-float-for-a-multi-field/15435/5 "2017-07-06T01:54:24Z")