How TO - Sort a Table
Learn how to sort an HTML table, using JavaScript.
Click the button to sort the table alphabetically, based on customer name:
| Name | Country |
|---|---|
| Berglunds snabbkop | Sweden |
| North/South | UK |
| Alfreds Futterkiste | Germany |
| Koniglich Essen | Germany |
| Magazzini Alimentari Riuniti | Italy |
| Paris specialites | France |
| Island Trading | UK |
| Laughing Bacchus Winecellars | Canada |
Creating a Sort Function
Example
function sortTable() {
var table, rows, switching, i, x, y,
shouldSwitch;
table = document.getElementById("myTable");
switching = true;
/* Make a loop that will continue until
no switching has been done: */
while (switching) {
// Start by saying: no switching is done:
switching =
false;
rows = table.getElementsByTagName("TR");
/* Loop through all table rows (except the
first, which
contains table headers): */
for (i = 1; i < (rows.length
- 1); i++) {
// Start by saying there should
be no switching:
shouldSwitch = false;
/* Get the two elements you want to compare,
one from current row and one from the next: */
x = rows[i].getElementsByTagName("TD")[0];
y
= rows[i + 1].getElementsByTagName("TD")[0];
// Check if the two rows should switch place:
if (x.innerHTML.toLowerCase() > y.innerHTML.toLowerCase()) {
// I so, mark as a switch and break the loop:
shouldSwitch= true;
break;
}
}
if (shouldSwitch) {
/* If a switch has been marked, make the switch
and mark that a switch has been done: */
rows[i].parentNode.insertBefore(rows[i + 1], rows[i]);
switching = true;
}
}
}
Try it Yourself »
Sort Table by Clicking the Headers
Click the headers to sort the table.
Click "Name" to sort by names, and "Country" to sort by country.
The first time you click, the sorting direction is ascending (A to Z).
Click again, and the sorting direction will be descending (Z to A):
| Name | Country |
|---|---|
| Berglunds snabbkop | Sweden |
| North/South | UK |
| Alfreds Futterkiste | Germany |
| Koniglich Essen | Germany |
| Magazzini Alimentari Riuniti | Italy |
| Paris specialites | France |
| Island Trading | UK |
| Laughing Bacchus Winecellars | Canada |
Example
<table id="myTable2">
<tr>
<!--When a header is clicked, run the
sortTable function, with a parameter,
0 for sorting by names, 1 for sorting
by country: -->
<th onclick="sortTable(0)">Name</th>
<th onclick="sortTable(1)">Country</th>
</tr>
...
<script>
function sortTable(n) {
var table,
rows, switching, i, x, y, shouldSwitch, dir, switchcount = 0;
table
= document.getElementById("myTable2");
switching = true;
// Set the sorting direction to ascending:
dir = "asc";
/* Make a loop that will continue until
no switching has been done: */
while (switching) {
// Start by saying: no switching is
done:
switching = false;
rows =
table.getElementsByTagName("TR");
/* Loop through all
table rows (except the
first, which contains table
headers): */
for (i = 1; i < (rows.length - 1); i++) {
// Start by saying there should be no switching:
shouldSwitch = false;
/* Get the two elements
you want to compare,
one from current row
and one from the next: */
x = rows[i].getElementsByTagName("TD")[n];
y = rows[i + 1].getElementsByTagName("TD")[n];
/* Check if the two rows should switch place,
based on the direction, asc or desc: */
if (dir
== "asc") {
if (x.innerHTML.toLowerCase()
> y.innerHTML.toLowerCase()) {
// If so, mark as a switch and break the loop:
shouldSwitch= true;
break;
}
} else if (dir == "desc") {
if (x.innerHTML.toLowerCase()
< y.innerHTML.toLowerCase()) {
// If so, mark as a switch and break the loop:
shouldSwitch= true;
break;
}
}
}
if (shouldSwitch) {
/* If a switch has been marked, make the switch
and mark that a switch has been done: */
rows[i].parentNode.insertBefore(rows[i + 1], rows[i]);
switching = true;
// Each time a switch is
done, increase this count by 1:
switchcount
++;
} else {
/* If no
switching has been done AND the direction is "asc",
set the direction to "desc" and run the while loop again. */
if (switchcount == 0 && dir == "asc") {
dir = "desc";
switching = true;
}
}
}
}
</script>
Try it Yourself »
