Help:Sortable tables

Note: When you edit this page, you agree to release your contribution under the CC0. See Public Domain Help Pages for more info.

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

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

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

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

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	Ḃ	ḃ	Ḋ	ḋ	Ḟ	ḟ	Ṁ	ṁ	Ṗ	ṗ	Ṡ	ṡ	Ṫ	ṫ	Ẁ	ẁ	Ẃ	ẃ	Ẅ	ẅ	Ỳ	ỳ	–	—	―	‗	‘	’	‚
‛	“	”	„	†	‡	•	…	‰	′	″	‹	›	‼	‾	⁄	ⁿ	₣	₤	₧	€	℅	ℓ	№	™	Ω	℮	⅛	⅜	⅝	⅞	←	↑	→	↓	↔
↕	↨	∂	∆	∏	∑	−	∕	∙	√	∞	∟	∩	∫	≈	≠	≡	≤	≥	⌂	⌐	⌠	⌡	─	│	┌	┐	└	┘	├	┤	┬	┴	┼	═	║
╒	╓	╔	╕	╖	╗	╘	╙	╚	╛	╜	╝	╞	╟	╠	╡	╢	╣	╤	╥	╦	╧	╨	╩	╪	╫	╬	▀	▄	█	▌	▐	░	▒	▓	■
□	▪	▫	▬	▲	►	▼	◄	◊	○	●	◘	◙	◦	☺	☻	☼	♀	♂	♠	♣	♥	♦	♪	♫			ﬁ	ﬂ	�

ISO basic Latin alphabet

Greek alphabet

Russian Cyrillic alphabet

Forcing the sort mode of a column

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

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

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

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

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

Excluding the last row from sorting

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

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

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

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

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

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		&301745802123 28 Apr 2025 01:02:03	&301745802123 010203	&301745802123 010203	1745802123
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
20250428053726		&301745818646 28 Apr 2025 05:37:26	&301745818646 20250428053726	&301745818646 20250428053726	1745818646
yesterday		&301745712000 27 Apr 2025 00:00:00	&301745712000 yesterday	&301745712000 yesterday	1745712000
today		&301745798400 28 Apr 2025 00:00:00	&301745798400 today	&301745798400 today	1745798400
tomorrow		&301745884800 29 Apr 2025 00:00:00	&301745884800 tomorrow	&301745884800 tomorrow	1745884800
1week		&301746423446 05 May 2025 05:37:26	&301746423446 1week	&301746423446 1week	1746423446
-1week		&301745213846 21 Apr 2025 05:37:26	&301745213846 -1week	&301745213846 -1week	1745213846
1day		&301745905046 29 Apr 2025 05:37:26	&301745905046 1day	&301745905046 1day	1745905046
-1day		&301745732246 27 Apr 2025 05:37:26	&301745732246 -1day	&301745732246 -1day	1745732246
1month		&301748410646 28 May 2025 05:37:26	&301748410646 1month	&301748410646 1month	1748410646
-1month		&301743140246 28 Mar 2025 05:37:26	&301743140246 -1month	&301743140246 -1month	1743140246
1year		&301777354646 28 Apr 2026 05:37:26	&301777354646 1year	&301777354646 1year	1777354646
-1year		&301714282646 28 Apr 2024 05:37:26	&301714282646 -1year	&301714282646 -1year	1714282646
1000year		&333302727446 28 Apr 3025 05:37:26	&333302727446 1000year	&333302727446 1000year	33302727446
10000month		&328043300246 28 Aug 2858 05:37:26	&328043300246 10000month	&328043300246 10000month	28043300246
1000000day		&388145818646 26 Mar 4763 05:37:26	&388145818646 1000000day	&388145818646 1000000day	88145818646
10000000hour		&337745818646 12 Feb 3166 21:37:26	&337745818646 10000000hour	&337745818646 10000000hour	37745818646
1000000000minute		&361745818646 25 Aug 3926 16:17:26	&361745818646 1000000000minute	&361745818646 1000000000minute	61745818646
100000000000second		&401745818646 13 Mar 5194 15:24:06	&401745818646 100000000000second	&401745818646 100000000000second	101745818646
7980year		Error: #time only supports years up to 9999.	&Expression error: Unexpected < operator. 7980year	7980year	Error: #time only supports years up to 9999.
-1890year		&242103121046 28 Apr 0135 05:37:26	&242103121046 -1890year	&242103121046 -1890year	-57896878954
Mon		&301745798400 28 Apr 2025 00:00:00	&301745798400 Mon	&301745798400 Mon	1745798400
Tue		&301745884800 29 Apr 2025 00:00:00	&301745884800 Tue	&301745884800 Tue	1745884800
Wed		&301745971200 30 Apr 2025 00:00:00	&301745971200 Wed	&301745971200 Wed	1745971200
Thu		&301746057600 01 May 2025 00:00:00	&301746057600 Thu	&301746057600 Thu	1746057600
Fri		&301746144000 02 May 2025 00:00:00	&301746144000 Fri	&301746144000 Fri	1746144000
Sat		&301746230400 03 May 2025 00:00:00	&301746230400 Sat	&301746230400 Sat	1746230400
Sun		&301746316800 04 May 2025 00:00:00	&301746316800 Sun	&301746316800 Sun	1746316800
		Error: Invalid time.	&Expression error: Unexpected < operator.		Error: Invalid time.
unknown		Error: Invalid time.	&Expression error: Unexpected < operator. unknown	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.

Cell spanning multiple rows/cells

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	1.85
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

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

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

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:

Rearrange the table's wikitext without the top and bottom lines.
Replace the cell separators with a unique code that doesn't contain a "|" by using "find and replace".
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).
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.
Delete the items that begin with "-" and a newline.
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

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

Sort modes

Dates

Numbers

Text

Forcing the sort mode of a column

Specifying a sort key

Controlling sorting and display

Examples

Secondary sort key

Additional features

Excluding the last row from sorting

Excluding the first row from sorting

Making a column unsortable

Keeping some rows together

Special dates

Using #time

Cell spanning multiple rows/cells

Colspanned cells

Static column

Default order

Persistent sort states using cookies

See also