---
url: /reference/view-sorting.md
description: >-
  The fields a view can sort by, the Manual order, and how several sort rules
  combine.
---

# View sorting

This page lists the fields a [view](/concepts/views) can sort by and the rules that decide the
order of its tasks in each [view type](/reference/views-compared). The steps are in
[Filter, sort and group a view](/guides/filter-sort-and-group-a-view#sort-by-due-date-then-priority).
Click **Sort** in the view header (its label is in [Sort button labels](#sort-button-labels)) to
open the **Sort** card.

## Sortable fields

The **Sort** card lists the fields not yet in the sort under **Available**, in this order. Every
field is offered whatever [list features](/guides/set-up-a-list#turn-features-on-or-off) are on.

| Field | Sorts by | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| **Manual** | the order you drag tasks into | [Manual order](#manual-order) below |
| **Title** | the task's name | [Create and edit tasks](/guides/create-and-edit-tasks) |
| **Priority** | rank: **None**, **Low**, **Normal**, **High**, **Urgent** | [Create and edit tasks](/guides/create-and-edit-tasks) |
| **Stage** | the [stage](/concepts/statuses); see [Sort direction](#sort-direction-asc-and-desc) for the order | [Set up a list](/guides/set-up-a-list#change-statuses) |
| **Status** | the status, in the [status template](/concepts/statuses)'s order; see [Sort direction](#sort-direction-asc-and-desc) | [Set up a list](/guides/set-up-a-list#change-statuses) |
| **Start date** | the start date | [Plan on the timeline and the calendar](/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar) |
| **Due date** | the due date | [Build your own Today view](/guides/build-a-today-view) |
| **Created** | when the task was created | [See what changed in a task](/guides/see-task-history) |
| **Updated** | when the task last changed | [See what changed in a task](/guides/see-task-history) |
| **Assignee** | the assignee's name; see [Sort direction](#sort-direction-asc-and-desc) | [Assign and watch tasks](/guides/assign-and-watch-tasks) |
| **Estimate** | the time estimate | [Track time on a task](/guides/track-time) |
| **Tracked** | the time logged | [Track time on a task](/guides/track-time) |
| **Completed** | when the task was marked done | [Create and edit tasks](/guides/create-and-edit-tasks) |
| **Story points** | the estimate in points | [Estimate with Scrum Poker](/guides/estimate-with-scrum-poker) |

## Sort direction: Asc and Desc

A field joins the sort as **Asc**. Click **Asc** on its row to switch it to **Desc**, and back.

* **Dates**: **Asc** puts the earliest first.
* **Numbers and durations**: **Asc** puts the smallest first.
* **Priority**: **Asc** runs **None** → **Low** → **Normal** → **High** → **Urgent**; **Desc** puts
  **Urgent** first.
* **Stage**: **Asc** runs **Not started** → **Active** → **Done**; **Desc** puts **Done** first.
* **Status**: **Asc** runs stage by stage, **Not started** → **Active** → **Done**, and inside a
  stage in the status template's order. **Desc** reverses it.
* **Assignee**: **Asc** runs A to Z by the member's name (or email, if they have no name);
  **Desc**, Z to A. Unassigned tasks come last either way.
* **Title**: **Asc** runs by character code: digits, then capitals A to Z, then lower case a to z,
  so **Zebra** comes before **apple**. **Desc** reverses it.
* **Empty values**: tasks with no value come first on **Asc** and last on **Desc**, for example
  tasks with no due date. **Assignee** is the exception: unassigned tasks come last either way.

In a view over lists with different status templates, statuses of one stage follow their position
in their own template, and two at the same position follow the order of their templates. Example:
**Doing**, 2nd in its template, comes before **In progress**, 4th in another.

## Rule order and ties

The rule at the top sorts first. Each rule below it only orders tasks that tie on every rule
above.

A sort holds at most 10 rules.

::: warning At most 10 rules
With an 11th rule in the card, no change is saved, not even a reorder, until you remove one.
:::

With **Due date** **Asc**, then **Priority** **Desc**:

| Order | Task | Due date | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Send the invoice | Tuesday | **Urgent** |
| 2 | Book the venue | Tuesday | **High** |
| 3 | Review the draft | Thursday | **Urgent** |

## Sort card controls

The active sort sits on the right of the **Sort** card, under **Active · drag to reorder**.

| To | Do this |
|---|---|
| Add a field | Click it under **Available**: it joins at the bottom. Or drag it into place: dropped at the top, it sorts first. |
| Reorder | Drag a row, or point at it and click **Move up** or **Move down**. |
| Remove a field | Click **Remove** (the trash icon) on its row, or drag it onto **Remove from sort**. |
| Remove every field | Click **Clear** at the top of the card. |

## Manual order

**Manual** is the order you drag tasks into. It always breaks the last ties: tasks that match on
every rule keep their Manual order, even when **Manual** is not in the sort.

In [List, Kanban](/reference/views-compared), [GTD](/concepts/gtd) and
[Scrum Poker](/guides/estimate-with-scrum-poker) views:

* A lone **Manual** rule can't be removed: pointing at its greyed-out **Remove** says so, and
  **Clear** is hidden.
* **Clear** on a longer sort goes back to **Manual**.
* A field you add sits below **Manual** and, in a view of one list, changes nothing until you move
  it above **Manual** or remove **Manual**.

## Grouping comes first

In a grouped view, tasks are sorted by the group field first, so each group stays together. Your
sort orders the tasks inside each group; on a Kanban board, the cards in each column. See
[View grouping](/reference/view-grouping).

## Sort per view type

Each view type keeps its own sort, except GTD and Scrum Poker, which use the List's. Switching the
view's type shows that type's sort. A change saves at once, with no **Save** button, for everyone who opens the view.

| View type | Sort |
|---|---|
| List, Kanban | always has one; **Manual** by default, locked while it is alone |
| GTD, [Scrum Poker](/guides/estimate-with-scrum-poker) | uses the List's sort; Scrum Poker shows the **Sort** button only before you open a session's setup, and a session keeps the order it started in |
| [Table](/reference/views-compared), [Timeline, Calendar](/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar) | may have none, and tasks then follow Manual order; a field you add sorts at once |
| [Dashboard](/guides/build-a-dashboard) | the **Sort** button shows, but widgets ignore it |
| [Relations](/concepts/relations) | no **Sort** button on a view of its own; on a list's own page the button shows, but the graph ignores it |
| [Feed, Dashboard V2](/reference/views-compared) | no **Sort** button |

A running [GTD session](/guides/run-a-gtd-session) hides the **Sort** button.

::: info Table headers sort for you only
In a Table, clicking a column header re-sorts the rows already loaded. That order isn't saved and
doesn't change the view's **Sort**. It's cleared when the view's **Sort**,
[**Filter**](/reference/view-filters), [**Sources**](/concepts/views#sources-where-a-view-looks)
or [**Slice**](/concepts/views#sources-where-a-view-looks) changes, and when you open another view, so the view's own order shows again. Six
columns sort this way:

* **Name**
* **Priority**
* **Due date**
* **Start date**
* **Task number**
* **Story points**
  :::

## Sort access: who can change it

Anyone who can open a view sees its tasks in the view's sort order. Changing the sort takes more.

::: warning Edit access needed
To change a shared view's sort you need [**Edit** access](/concepts/sharing) to the view and a
[permission set](/reference/permissions-and-access) that can update views, such as
**List/Folder manager** or **Admin**. Without it, the **Sort** button doesn't show on a list's own
views (the tabs on the list's page; see [Views as lenses on tasks](/concepts/views)). On other
shared views it shows, but your change isn't saved.
:::

Personal views are always yours to change.

## Sort button labels

| Header shows | Meaning |
|---|---|
| the sort icon alone, gray outline | no sort (possible in every view type except List, Kanban, GTD and Scrum Poker) |
| the sort icon alone, blue | a sort is set, in the narrowest header; the tip names it |
| **Sort · Manual** | the default in List, Kanban, GTD and Scrum Poker |
| **Sort · Due date** | one rule: that field |
| **Sort · 2** | two rules |
| **· Due date** or **· 2** | the same, in a narrower header |
| the **Tools** icon → **Sort** | a narrow window folds the header's tools into one menu |