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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()) {
        //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;
    }
  }
}
Try it Yourself »

Tip: Learn more about sorting HTML elements in our W3.JS Tutorial.


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 »

Tip: Learn more about sorting HTML elements in our W3.JS Tutorial.