Help:Sortable tables

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To make a sortable table, add the sortable class to a table. This class adds arrows displayed beside the header within each header cell. (See example below.) When you click on an arrow, the table rows are arranged according to the chosen column. Continuously clicking the arrow alters the sorting order in the following pattern: Ascending (min to max), Descending (max to min), and then Unsorted (sequential). You can perform secondary sorts by shift-clicking the arrows in different columns.

Each shift click will set the secondary sort based on the clicked column, and this capability extends to tertiary and further sorts.

Sort modes

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Items are sorted based on the data type of the first few rows below the header. To determine the data type, the first five non-empty rows below the header are examined upon page loading, and the most suitable format is selected. Discrepancies can occur. Additionally, specific columns can have their sorting order forced, as explained in the relevant section below.

Currently, tags like span or sup don't affect how data types are determined, but reference numbers and visible comments do.

Dates

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Different date formats are accepted, even those with month names in local languages. For instance, on the German Wikipedia, "16. März 2010" is appropriately sorted as 2010-03-16.

Different numerical formats, including ones with various separators like periods, commas, apostrophes, or slashes (such as . , ' /), are supported. The English Wikipedia typically uses the US date format, (e.g. month-day-year).

Numbers

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The script can detect numbers that use either "." or "," as decimal separators, as well as numbers written in scientific notation (using "e" or "E"). By default, numbers will be sorted based on alphanumeric order by default, meaning that they will be sorted as strings rather than numerical values. This may result in unexpected sortings, such as "9" coming after "10". However, this default behavior can be overridden if desired.

Text

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When lists are sorted alphabetically by MediaWiki, the order of characters is sorted with Intl.Collator. This sorts accented characters correctly based on PageContentLanguage.

Android Webviews don't support this, so fallback to the old sort routine is required. The order is the same as the order of Unicode code points. Some of the more common characters are ordered as follows (in ascending order):

 
! " # $ % & ' ( ) * + , - . / 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 : ; < = > ? @ A B C
D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [ \ ] ^ _ ` a b c d e f g
h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z { | } ~
 
¡ ¢ £ ¤ ¥ ¦ § ¨ © ª « ¬
­
® ¯ ° ± ² ³ ´ µ · ¸ ¹ º » ¼ ½ ¾ ¿ À Á Â Ã Ä Å Æ Ç È É Ê Ë Ì Í Î Ï Ð
Ñ Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö × Ø Ù Ú Û Ü Ý Þ ß à á â ã ä å æ ç è é ê ë ì í î ï ð ñ ò ó ô
õ ö ÷ ø ù ú û ü ý þ ÿ Ā ā Ă ă Ą ą Ć ć Ĉ ĉ Ċ ċ Č č Ď ď Đ đ Ē ē Ĕ ĕ Ė ė Ę
ę Ě ě Ĝ ĝ Ğ ğ Ġ ġ Ģ ģ Ĥ ĥ Ħ ħ Ĩ ĩ Ī ī Ĭ ĭ Į į İ ı IJ ij Ĵ ĵ Ķ ķ ĸ Ĺ ĺ Ļ ļ
Ľ ľ Ŀ ŀ Ł ł Ń ń Ņ ņ Ň ň ʼn Ŋ ŋ Ō ō Ŏ ŏ Ő ő Œ œ Ŕ ŕ Ŗ ŗ Ř ř Ś ś Ŝ ŝ Ş ş Š
š Ţ ţ Ť ť Ŧ ŧ Ũ ũ Ū ū Ŭ ŭ Ů ů Ű ű Ų ų Ŵ ŵ Ŷ ŷ Ÿ Ź ź Ż ż Ž ž ſ Ə ƒ Ǻ ǻ Ǽ
ǽ Ǿ ǿ Ș ș Ț ț ə ˆ ˇ ˉ ˘ ˙ ˚ ˛ ˜ ˝ ΄ ΅ Ά · Έ Ή Ί Ό Ύ Ώ ΐ Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ
Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω Ϊ Ϋ ά έ ή ί ΰ α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν
ξ ο π ρ ς σ τ υ φ χ ψ ω ϊ ϋ ό ύ ώ Ѐ Ё Ђ Ѓ Є Ѕ І Ї Ј Љ Њ Ћ Ќ Ѝ Ў Џ А Б В
Г Д Е Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь Э Ю Я а б в г д е ж
з и й к л м н о п р с т у ф х ц ч ш щ ъ ы ь э ю я ѐ ё ђ ѓ є ѕ і ї ј љ њ
ћ ќ ѝ ў џ Ґ ґ
Ω

Forcing the sort mode of a column

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Adding data-sort-type="..." to the header lets you control how a table is sorted. This feature is derived from tablesorter.com (webarchive). Valid values for "data-sort-type" include the following which are not case-sensitive:

  • currency
  • number
  • isoDate
  • time
  • IPAddress
  • usLongDate
  • date
  • text
  • url

For example:

Wikitext

{|class="wikitable sortable"
!data-sort-type="date"| Date !! Name !! Height !!data-sort-type="number"| Salary
|-
| 01.10.1977 || Smith || 1.85 || 1,000.000
|-
| 11.6.1972 || Ray || 1.89 || 900.000
|-
| 1.9.1992 || Bianchi || 1.72 || 2,000.50
|}

Rendering

Date Name Height Salary
01.10.1977 Smith 1.85 1,000.000
11.6.1972 Ray 1.89 900.000
1.9.1992 Bianchi 1.72 2,000.50

Specifying a sort key

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You can adjust how cells are sorted or parsed if needed. For instance, if a cell says "John Smith" but should be sorted under "Smith", you can use the data-sort-value="..." attribute to achieve this.

Wikitext

{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Name and Surname !! Height
|-
|data-sort-value="Smith, John"| John Smith || 1.85
|-
|data-sort-value="Ray, Ian"| Ian Ray || 1.89
|-
|data-sort-value="Bianchi, Zachary"| Zachary Bianchi || 1.72
|}

Rendering

Name and Surname Height
John Smith 1.85
Ian Ray 1.89
Zachary Bianchi 1.72

Controlling sorting and display

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To ensure certain text isn't sorted but still displayed, use data-sort-type="...". You can then append additional text after values, like "200 approx" or "100[1]". An empty cell sorts as "-Infinity". If a cell contains a range of dates or numbers (for example, from 2 to 5), use data-sort-value="...".

Examples

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The first column sorts plain numbers. The second column sorts more content as numbers using data-sort-type="number" in the table header. The fourth column defines numeric sort values independently of cell content using data-sort-value="...".

numbers data-sort-type="number" data-sort-type="number"
-8e3 -8 e3 -8 e3
-3e-3 -3 e-3 -3 e-3
2.000 2-5 km² data-sort-value="3.5" 2-5 km²
3.99 3.99 km² 3.99 km²
4 4 km² 4 km²
90 % 90 Percent data-sort-value="90" about 90 Percent
1E2 100[1] 100[1]
1,000,000.0 1 000 000.0 data-sort-value="1e6" one Million

The way commas (,) and decimal points (.) are displayed in Mediawiki depends on the language settings. Currency symbols and the percentage (%) symbol are sorted numerically based on these settings.

currencies
$ 9
$ 80
$ 70
$ 600
currencies
9 €
80 €
70 €
600 €
currencies
£ 9
£ 80
£ 70
£ 600
currencies
¥ 9
¥ 80
¥ 70
¥ 600
percent
9 %
80 %
70 %
600 %
numbers
−7e270
-1.4285714285714E-13
999e9
7e270

Secondary sort key

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You can sort data by columns, with Column A as the primary sort key. If Column A has equal values, use Column B as the secondary key. Click Column A's sort button once or twice, then while holding shift, click Column B's sort button once or twice for further refinement.

For example:

Click on the "Text" column first, then hold down the shift key and click on the "Numbers" column. You'll notice that the items are sorted based on text first and then numbers.

Numbers Text Dates Currency More text
4 a 01.Jan.2005 4.20 row 1
5 a 05/12/2006 7.15 row 2
1 b 02-02-2004 5.00 row 3
1 a 02-02-2004 5.00 row 4
2 x 13-apr-2005 row 5
2 a 13-apr-2005 row 6
3 a 17.aug.2006 6.50 row 7
3 z 25.aug.2006 2.30 row 8
3 z 28.aug.2006 5.50 row 9
3 z 31.aug.2006 3.77 row 10
3 z 01.sep.2006 1.50 row 11
Bottom

Additional features

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Excluding the last row from sorting

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You can skip sorting the last row of a table by marking it with class="sortbottom". You can also exclude it from sorting by declaring it as a footer with an exclamation mark (!).

Wikitext

{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Name !! Surname !! Height
|-
| John || Smith || 1.85
|-
| Ron || Ray || 1.89
|-
| Mario || Bianchi || 1.72
|- class="sortbottom"
! !! Average: || 1.82
|}

Rendering

Name Surname Height
John Smith 1.85
Ron Ray 1.89
Mario Bianchi 1.72
Average: 1.82

Excluding the first row from sorting

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You can exclude the first row by using the class="sorttop".

Wikitext

{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Name !! Surname !! Height
|- class="sorttop"
! !! Average: || 1.82
|-
| John || Smith || 1.85
|-
| Ron || Ray || 1.89
|-
| Mario || Bianchi || 1.72
|}

Rendering

Name Surname Height
Average: 1.82
John Smith 1.85
Ron Ray 1.89
Mario Bianchi 1.72

Making a column unsortable

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To stop a column from being sortable, use class="unsortable" in its header cell's attributes.

Wikitext

{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Numbers !! Alphabet !! Dates !! Currency !!class="unsortable"| Unsortable
|-
| 1 || Z || 02-02-2004 || 5.00 || This
|-
| 2 || y || 13-apr-2005 || || Column
|-
| 3 || X || 17.aug.2006 || 6.50 || Is
|-
| 4 || w || 01.Jan.2005 || 4.20 || Unsortable
|-
| 5 || V || 05/12/2006 || 7.15 || See?
|-
! Total: 15 !! !! !! Total: 29.55 !!
|-
|}

Rendering

Numbers Alphabet Dates Currency Unsortable
1 Z 02-02-2004 5.00 This
2 y 13-apr-2005 Column
3 X 17.aug.2006 6.50 Is
4 w 01.Jan.2005 4.20 Unsortable
5 V 05/12/2006 7.15 See?
Total: 15 Total: 29.55 Original example

Keeping some rows together

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To allow an uncolumned row to always stay beneath the columned row above it, no matter how you sort them, use class="expand-child" in the row's attribute.

Wikitext

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!style="width:9em"| Country !!data-sort-type="number"| Area
|-
| France
| 674 843 km²
|- class="expand-child" style="font-size:85%; line-height:1.2; color:gray"
|colspan="2"| In Paris is the Eiffel Tower.
|-
| U.K.
| 242 495 km²
|- class="expand-child" style="font-size:85%; line-height:1.2; color:gray"
|colspan="2"| In the U.K. you cannot pay with euros.
|- class="expand-child" style="font-size:85%; line-height:1.2; color:gray"
|colspan="2"| And you drive on the left side of the road.
|-
| Germany
| 357 168 km²
|- class="expand-child" style="font-size:85%; line-height:1.2; color:gray"
|colspan="2"| Germany includes the former DDR.
|}

Rendering

Country Area
France 674 843 km²
In Paris is the Eiffel Tower.
U.K. 242 495 km²
In the U.K. you cannot pay with euros.
And you drive on the left side of the road.
Germany 357 168 km²
Germany includes the former DDR.

If you put in data-sort-value the same content as above row, keep this rows also together. The original mutual order of these rows is preserved. A better way for this is class expand-child, see above #Keeping some rows together.

Example where data-sort-value is used is the case for the rows about the Netherlands:

{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Country/province !! Capital
|-
| France || Paris
|-
| Netherlands || Amsterdam
|-
|data-sort-value="Netherlands"| South Holland ||data-sort-value="Amsterdam"| The Hague
|-
| U.K. || London
|}
Country/province Capital
France Paris
Netherlands Amsterdam
South Holland The Hague
U.K. London

Special dates

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To represent years Before the Common Era (BCE) subtract the BCE year from 10,000. For instance, -62 BCE would be 10,000 - 62 = 9938.

For example, September 23, 62 BCE would be represented as 9938-09-23.

If a table column has incomplete dates, sorting won't be an issue. If only a year and month are provided, it's sorted before the first day of that month. Similarly, if only a year is given, it's sorted before the first month or day of that year.

Wikitext

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Date
|-
| 2022-01-01
|-
| 2023-12-31
|-
| 2024
|-
| 2024-04
|-
| 2024-04-00
|-
| 2024-05
|-
| 2024-05-00
|}

Rendering

Date
2022-01-01
2023-12-31
2024
2024-04
2024-04-00
2024-05
2024-05-00

Using #time

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You can use the parser function #time and HTML tags to display a specific date range. By adding the HTML tag <span style="display:none">&{{#expr:3e11+{{#time:U|..}}}}</span> before the displayed date, you can manipulate the way the date is shown. This method works for dates between January 1, 111 CE, and December 31, 9999 CE, using the proleptic Gregorian calendar. The added value ensures all values are positive and uniform in length. Placing "&" before the expression forces string sorting mode.

You can input dates and times using any PHP format for date and time. Remember, if you're specifying just a year, you must include a month (usually January) in the background.

For example using date :

input date text date and time as interpreted, with hidden sort key input with visible sort key input with hidden sort key Unix time
010203 &301749862923 14 Jun 2025 01:02:03 &301749862923 010203 &301749862923 010203 1749862923
1/2 &301735776000 02 Jan 2025 00:00:00 &301735776000 1/2 &301735776000 1/2 1735776000
1/2/3 &301041465600 02 Jan 2003 00:00:00 &301041465600 1/2/3 &301041465600 1/2/3 1041465600
1-2-2003 &301044057600 01 Feb 2003 00:00:00 &301044057600 1-2-2003 &301044057600 1-2-2003 1044057600
1-2-3 &300981158400 03 Feb 2001 00:00:00 &300981158400 1-2-3 &300981158400 1-2-3 981158400
2007 &301167609600 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 &301167609600 2007 &301167609600 2007 1167609600
1 Jan 111, 00:00:00 &241335609600 01 Jan 0111 00:00:00 &241335609600 1 Jan 111, 00:00:00 &241335609600 1 Jan 111, 00:00:00 -58664390400
31 Dec 9999, 23:59:59 &553402300799 31 Dec 9999 23:59:59 &553402300799 31 Dec 9999, 23:59:59 &553402300799 31 Dec 9999, 23:59:59 253402300799
Sep 1970 &300020995200 01 Sep 1970 00:00:00 &300020995200 Sep 1970 &300020995200 Sep 1970 20995200
1970 &300000000000 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 &300000000000 1970 &300000000000 1970 0
Jun 2007 or later &301180656000 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 or later &301180656000 Jun 2007 or later &301180656000 Jun 2007 or later 1180656000 or later
Jun 2007 perhaps earlier &301180656000 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 perhaps earlier &301180656000 Jun 2007 perhaps earlier &301180656000 Jun 2007 perhaps earlier 1180656000 perhaps earlier
2007-6 &301180656000 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 &301180656000 2007-6 &301180656000 2007-6 1180656000
Jun 2007 &301180656000 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 &301180656000 Jun 2007 &301180656000 Jun 2007 1180656000
4 Jun 2007 &301180915200 04 Jun 2007 00:00:00 &301180915200 4 Jun 2007 &301180915200 4 Jun 2007 1180915200
3 Jul 2007 &301183420800 03 Jul 2007 00:00:00 &301183420800 3 Jul 2007 &301183420800 3 Jul 2007 1183420800
12 Aug 2006 &301155340800 12 Aug 2006 00:00:00 &301155340800 12 Aug 2006 &301155340800 12 Aug 2006 1155340800
1 Mar 2006 -1day &301141084800 28 Feb 2006 00:00:00 &301141084800 1 Mar 2006 -1day &301141084800 1 Mar 2006 -1day 1141084800
1 Mar 2008 -1day &301204243200 29 Feb 2008 00:00:00 &301204243200 1 Mar 2008 -1day &301204243200 1 Mar 2008 -1day 1204243200
1 Mar 2010 -1day &301267315200 28 Feb 2010 00:00:00 &301267315200 1 Mar 2010 -1day &301267315200 1 Mar 2010 -1day 1267315200
1 Mar 1900 -1day &297796022400 28 Feb 1900 00:00:00 &297796022400 1 Mar 1900 -1day &297796022400 1 Mar 1900 -1day -2203977600
1 Mar 1600 -1day &288329001600 29 Feb 1600 00:00:00 &288329001600 1 Mar 1600 -1day &288329001600 1 Mar 1600 -1day -11670998400
Jun 1607 &288557875200 01 Jun 1607 00:00:00 &288557875200 Jun 1607 &288557875200 Jun 1607 -11442124800
20250614060156 &301749880916 14 Jun 2025 06:01:56 &301749880916 20250614060156 &301749880916 20250614060156 1749880916
yesterday &301749772800 13 Jun 2025 00:00:00 &301749772800 yesterday &301749772800 yesterday 1749772800
today &301749859200 14 Jun 2025 00:00:00 &301749859200 today &301749859200 today 1749859200
tomorrow &301749945600 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 &301749945600 tomorrow &301749945600 tomorrow 1749945600
1week &301750485716 21 Jun 2025 06:01:56 &301750485716 1week &301750485716 1week 1750485716
-1week &301749276116 07 Jun 2025 06:01:56 &301749276116 -1week &301749276116 -1week 1749276116
1day &301749967316 15 Jun 2025 06:01:56 &301749967316 1day &301749967316 1day 1749967316
-1day &301749794516 13 Jun 2025 06:01:56 &301749794516 -1day &301749794516 -1day 1749794516
1month &301752472916 14 Jul 2025 06:01:56 &301752472916 1month &301752472916 1month 1752472916
-1month &301747202516 14 May 2025 06:01:56 &301747202516 -1month &301747202516 -1month 1747202516
1year &301781416916 14 Jun 2026 06:01:56 &301781416916 1year &301781416916 1year 1781416916
-1year &301718344916 14 Jun 2024 06:01:56 &301718344916 -1year &301718344916 -1year 1718344916
1000year &333306789716 14 Jun 3025 06:01:56 &333306789716 1000year &333306789716 1000year 33306789716
10000month &328047362516 14 Oct 2858 06:01:56 &328047362516 10000month &328047362516 10000month 28047362516
1000000day &388149880916 12 May 4763 06:01:56 &388149880916 1000000day &388149880916 1000000day 88149880916
10000000hour &337749880916 31 Mar 3166 22:01:56 &337749880916 10000000hour &337749880916 10000000hour 37749880916
1000000000minute &361749880916 11 Oct 3926 16:41:56 &361749880916 1000000000minute &361749880916 1000000000minute 61749880916
100000000000second &401749880916 29 Apr 5194 15:48:36 &401749880916 100000000000second &401749880916 100000000000second 101749880916
7980year &Expression error: Unexpected < operator. Error: #time only supports years up to 9999. &Expression error: Unexpected < operator. 7980year &Expression error: Unexpected < operator. 7980year Error: #time only supports years up to 9999.
-1890year &242107183316 14 Jun 0135 06:01:56 &242107183316 -1890year &242107183316 -1890year -57892816684
Mon &301750032000 16 Jun 2025 00:00:00 &301750032000 Mon &301750032000 Mon 1750032000
Tue &301750118400 17 Jun 2025 00:00:00 &301750118400 Tue &301750118400 Tue 1750118400
Wed &301750204800 18 Jun 2025 00:00:00 &301750204800 Wed &301750204800 Wed 1750204800
Thu &301750291200 19 Jun 2025 00:00:00 &301750291200 Thu &301750291200 Thu 1750291200
Fri &301750377600 20 Jun 2025 00:00:00 &301750377600 Fri &301750377600 Fri 1750377600
Sat &301749859200 14 Jun 2025 00:00:00 &301749859200 Sat &301749859200 Sat 1749859200
Sun &301749945600 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 &301749945600 Sun &301749945600 Sun 1749945600
&Expression error: Unexpected < operator. Error: Invalid time. &Expression error: Unexpected < operator. &Expression error: Unexpected < operator. Error: Invalid time.
unknown &Expression error: Unexpected < operator. Error: Invalid time. &Expression error: Unexpected < operator. unknown &Expression error: Unexpected < operator. unknown Error: Invalid time.

To use dates before 111 CE, add a multiple of 400 (like 6000) to all years. This shifts the range to start from January 1st, -5889, at 00:00:00, and ends on December 31st, 3999, at 23:59:59, without altering the calendar system.

See also:

Cell spanning multiple rows/cells

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A cell that extends across multiple rows or columns is considered equivalent to having multiple cells with identical values.

rowspan
Date Name Height
01.10.1977 Smith 1.85
11.06.1972 Adams
01.09.1992 Bianchi 1.72
colspan
A B C
A 2 1
B 1 3
C 2

Any missing cells at the end of a row will turn into empty cells after the first sort.

Colspanned cells

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Sort modes are detected separately for each column containing colspanned cells. You can set a sort mode for all colspanned columns by including data-sort-type in the header.

To implement separate sort keys for each column within a colspanned cell, utilize a CSS trick described here: Ensure an equal number of cells in each row for sortable columns. If there's a mismatch, all columns become sortable. This rule should apply up to and including the last sortable column. However, employing a CSS workaround allows for a difference between the displayed number of cells in a row and the formal count. For instance, two formal cells can appear as one by adjusting the width of the first column, shifting the content of the second cell to the left, increasing its width by the same measure, and concealing the cell border that would typically be visible. Concealed sort keys enable managing the sorting order of specific rows in relation to each column.

For example:

Country Capital
France Paris
Z M
Sorting with respect to the first column this row sorts like Z, with respect to the second column like M
U.K. London

Static column

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To make a static column, like one with row numbers, use two tables placed next to each other. Make sure each row in both tables has the same height. You can also use w:Template:Static row numbers to generate row numbers implicitly using CSS rather than creating another table.

Number
1
2
Country Capital
The Netherlands Amsterdam (although The Hague is the seat of government)
France Paris

The formatting can be modified to present everything in a unified table. If a row is too short for the text in a cell, the browser will expand it, disrupting the alignment.

Default order

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You can't show a table sorted by a column without the user clicking on it. By default, table rows appear in the order as the wikitext. To display a table sorted by a specific column, you'll need to arrange the wikitext accordingly. One way of doing this is:

  1. Rearrange the table's wikitext without the top and bottom lines.
  2. Replace the cell separators with a unique code that doesn't contain a "|" by using "find and replace".
  3. Replace any pipes within table cells with a code, and then substitute that code with a newline character preceded by it (indicating the start of a new row).
  4. Use the Sort module on Special:ExpandTemplates. To sort the items between the pipes and produce the desired separator, expand templates and add {{#invoke:Sort|f||- | (with the newline) before and }} after the wikitext.
  5. Delete the items that begin with "-" and a newline.
  6. Change the temporary codes for the cell separators and pipes inside the cells to restore them.

This sorting method relies on the wikitext in each row, primarily sorting by the content of the first column. The second column serves as a secondary key. However, wikitext codes in the first column cells before the content can impact the order.

You can also use Snippets/Sort table on reload to automatically sort the table when it loads using JavaScript.

Persistent sort states using cookies

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You can save the state of sortable tables across reloads using Snippets/Persistent sort order .

See also

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Other examples: