Initial Order Settings Not Working

MagicSquares

I have a table that should have an initial sort of order of the first column,, and within that, the last column, which is hidden.

However, it does not appear to be working.

The three final rows (before the Totals) line all have emojis in the list name. The last, hidden, column has the list name but without the emojis, so they should appear within the list of lists in alphabetical order, and I cannot work out why this is not happening.

Here's a link to the test case:

https://live.datatables.net/tujuwoci/1/

vomixol

Here's a step-by-step approach to troubleshoot and fix the sorting issue:

1. Check the Sorting Settings
   Ensure that your DataTables initialization code includes settings to sort by the first column and then by the hidden column. This usually looks something like this:

$('#example').DataTable({
"columnDefs": [
{ "orderData": [0, 1], "targets": '_all' } // This will sort by the first column and then by the hidden column
],
"order": [[0, 'asc'], [1, 'asc']] // Adjust according to your column indexes
});

1. Verify Data Consistency
   Make sure that the data in your hidden column matches the data you’re using for sorting. For example, if the hidden column data has emojis or different encoding, it might not sort correctly with the visible column data.

2. Handle Emoji Sorting
   Sorting with emojis can be tricky because they can have varying Unicode representations and may not sort as expected in some locales. Consider normalizing the data or using a custom sorting function.

Here's a basic example of a custom sorting function in DataTables that could help with sorting data containing emojis:

$.fn.dataTable.ext.order['custom-order'] = function (settings, data, dataIndex) {
return data.map(function (value) {
return value.replace(/[\u{1F600}-\u{1F64F}]/gu, ''); // Adjust the regex to target the emojis you need
});
};

$('#example').DataTable({
"columnDefs": [
{ "type": "custom-order", "targets": 1 } // Replace '1' with your hidden column index
]
});

1. Debug with DataTables Debug Tools
   Use the DataTables debug tools to inspect the data and settings. You can enable debug mode to get more insight:

$('#example').DataTable({
"debug": true
});

1. Review Your HTML
   Ensure that your HTML structure is correct and that the hidden column is indeed hidden using proper CSS, e.g.,:

.hidden-column {
display: none;
}

1. Check DataTables Version and Documentation
   Make sure you're using a compatible version of DataTables and refer to the documentation for any version-specific quirks or bugs.

Additional Debugging
Inspect Data: Open the browser's developer tools and inspect the table's data to ensure the hidden column is being correctly populated and sorted.
Console Errors: Check for any errors in the browser’s console that might indicate issues with JavaScript execution.
Feel free to adjust the custom sorting code and settings according to your specific requirements. If you’re still encountering issues, providing a more detailed view of your initialization code and data might help diagnose the problem further.

allan

@vomixol - ChatGPT generated? It contains things which aren't true such as debug: true which does nothing in DataTables, and .hidden-column which isn't a class DataTables uses.

@MagicSquares The data in the first column appears to be unique (its an id), so the second column would have no impact on the sort order. Maybe I'm not quite understanding?

Allan

MagicSquares

Allan,

I cannot believe I didn't see that! I guess I was so fixated on the DataTables initialization that I never spotted the obvious!

Thank you!

Mark

MagicSquares

Allan,

I have a similar problem with another table:

https://live.datatables.net/sugawahu/1/

The default sort order, when the table is first rendered, should be using the fourth column (which should be hidden but I've made it visible to try to see what is going on).

However, it's not working, and I cannot see why.

I'm sure, once again, it's something silly I've done (or not done).

Thanks and best wishes,

Mark

allan

The default sort order, when the table is first rendered, should be using the fourth colum

That example is using:

"order": [[ 0, "asc" ]],

so the default when first loaded will be column index 0. Also, you have state saving enabled, so when you reload the page, it will just use the same sorting as whatever you had it as before.

If I make it sort by the final column, it does appear to sort that way.

Worth noting that if you have a hidden column of data that you want another column to use for sorting, then you can use columns.orderData to tell DataTables to do that. e.g. in this case orderData: 3 in the first column will sort by the data in the final column when the user requests sorting on the first column.

Another option for this is to consider using orthogonal data, as described in the manual here.

Regards,
Allan

MagicSquares

Allan,

Once again, thanks.

I have it working as well as I need it to - the default sort order is now ascending order of list name, and when I click the arrow in the column heading, it makes the order descending, but the next click, where both the up and down arrow are greyed out, produces a list that is in some other apparently random order:

It's not super-important that this be fixed, but I'd love to understand what's going on.

MagicSquares

Allan,

It's OK - I've found what was going on and it was nothing to do with DataTables.

Thanks again for your help. I cannot get over how brilliant DataTables is, with so may features, and it's free!

Best wishes,

Mark