Sorting And Ordering Document Library Views In Sharepoint

Understanding SharePoint Views

Views in SharePoint libraries allow users to customize how documents are displayed. Views control settings like sorting, filtering, column selection, and more. Out of the box, libraries come with default views like “All Documents” that show items with common settings. Users can also create custom views with specialized settings.

What are views in SharePoint libraries?

A SharePoint view displays a subset of items in a document library based on certain parameters. Views allow for sorting, filtering, aggregation, and column selection. Views do not actually limit access to items. All items in the library are still accessible, but views control their visualization.

Default and custom views

Default views are pre-built views in SharePoint libraries out of the box. These include common views like “All Documents” and “Recent.” Custom views can be created by users to showcase documents sorted and filtered in specific ways. Custom views put the control in users’ hands.

View settings – sort, filter, column selection

When creating a custom library view, many settings can customize how items are displayed:

• Sort – Sort items by properties like title, date, etc. in ascending or descending order
• Filter – Set filters to narrow down items by properties, metadata, or values
• Columns – Select which document properties are shown as columns in the view
• Grouping – Group items under headings based on column values
• Aggregating – Aggregate information like counts, sums on groups of items

Sorting Documents in a Library

Sorting allows items in a SharePoint document library view to be ordered in ascending or descending order by a specified column. Sort helps surface more relevant documents to users.

Enable sorting on columns

Not all columns can be sorted by default. When creating views, column sorting must be programmatically enabled first in View Settings. This toggles on sorting arrows beside column headers.

Sort by single or multiple columns

In library views, users can sort by a single column at a time, like Title or Modified Date. Views can also be set to sort by multiple columns, either in succession or in parallel.

Ascending/descending sort order

Columns can be sorted ascending so “A is before Z”, or descending so “Z is before A”. Ascending is common for dates and names. Descending works for properties like status.

Sort using column headers

In any view, users can sort on the fly by selecting column headers. The current sort column will show an upward or downward arrow. Users can alternate between ascending and descending by selecting again.

Custom Sorting with Column Weight

Beyond standard ascending/descending sorts, SharePoint views can apply custom sorting logic by assigning “column weights”. This defines a more complex sort order.

Set column weight for custom sort order

In View Settings, columns can be dragged into a preferred sort order. A column weight number can be assigned based on its sort priority. Heavier weighted columns come first.

Heavier columns sorted first

For example, give Priority 30 points, Due Date 20 points, Title 10 points. Items will sort by Priority first, then Due Date, then Title – all ascending. This logical order surfaces urgent and upcoming tasks at the top.

Example: Priority (30), Due Date (20), Title (10)

The custom column weight sort with Priority first ensures users focus on urgent documents. Due Date second lets them view documents chronologically by completion date. Title falls third for alphabetical order.

Filtering Documents in a View

Filtering sets limits on documents shown in a library view, narrowing down items to only those matching filter rules.

Filter by document properties

Filter rules can target document properties like content type, file type, custom metadata columns, text in files, and much more. Complex filters may have multiple rules.

Example: filter by content type

A view can filter to only show certain content types. For example, target just Excel sheets for financial data analysis, filtering out other documents.

Create custom filters

Beyond default filter options, SharePoint views allow custom formulas, user-defined filters, and complex nested logical rules. These can create advanced, targeted document subsets.

Ordering Documents Manually

SharePoint library views can skip automated sort order and use manual drag-and-drop ordering.

Manual ordering with Position setting

In View Settings, the default sort can be set to “Position”. This removes automatic ordering and enables drag-drop. Users drag items vertically into any order.

Drag and drop to customize order

Manual drag-and-drop ordering gives users complete control over document positioning. This is helpful when defined logical sorting is needed that Ascending/Descending cannot provide.

Maintain order when adding new files

With Position sorting, new additions go to the bottom by default rather than the typical top or alphabetical order. Documents stay locked in the target manually defined position.

Best Practices for Order and Sorting

Following best practices for SharePoint view sorting and ordering improves discoverability and access to relevant documents when users need them.

Choose intuitive default view settings

Default views like “All Documents” should have predictable sort orders set like Title ascending for skimmability. Reserve custom complex sorting for specific views.

Name views for their sort and filters

Use specific names like “Expired Contracts”, “Projects Due This Month” that signal exactly what the specialized view will surface. Don’t use vague names.

Document library organization strategy

Step back and develop a strategy for view sorting that fits business goals around document access and utilization. Align views to workflow.