This option, along with DESCENDING, allows you to specify the collating sequence for the key field. By default, the primary key and alternate key are ASCENDING. When creating a new file, Pascal will create the key with the collating order specified. When opening an existing file, the Run-Time Library will verify that the existing key matches the collating order specified. If neither ASCENDING or DESCENDING is specified when opening an existing file, both types will be accepted.