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    Sorting Feature Guide

    Material React Table supports almost any sorting scenario you may have. Client-side sorting is enabled by default, but you can opt to implement your own server-side sorting logic or even replace the default client-side sorting with your own implementation.

    Relevant Table Options

    1
    boolean
    true
    MRT Global Filtering Docs
    2
    boolean
    3
    boolean
    true
    4
    boolean
    true
    5
    (table: Table<TData>) => () => RowModel<TData>
    TanStack Table Sorting Docs
    6
    (e: unknown) => boolean
    TanStack Table Sorting Docs
    7
    boolean
    TanStack Table Sorting Docs
    8
    number
    TanStack Table Sorting Docs
    9
    OnChangeFn<SortingState>
    TanStack Table Sorting Docs
    10
    boolean
    TanStack Table Sorting Docs
    11
    Record<string, SortingFn>
    TanStack Table Sorting Docs

    Relevant Column Options

    1
    boolean
    true
    2
    boolean
    3
    boolean
    false
    4
    boolean
    5
    'first' | 'last' | false | 1 | -1
    6
    SortingFnOption

    Relevant State Options

    1
    Array<{ id: string, desc: boolean }>
    []
    TanStack Table Sorting Docs

    Disable Sorting

    Sorting can be disabled globally by setting the enableSorting table option to false. This will disable sorting for all columns. You can also disable sorting for individual columns by setting the enableSorting column option to false.

    const columns = [
    {
    accessorKey: 'name',
    header: 'Name',
    enableSorting: false, // disable sorting for this column
    },
    ];
    const table = useMaterialReactTable({
    columns,
    data,
    enableSorting: false, //disable sorting for all columns
    });

    Initial/Default Sorting

    You can sort by a column or multiple columns by default by setting the sorting state option in either the initialState or state props.

    const table = useMaterialReactTable({
    columns,
    data,
    initialState: {
    sorting: [
    {
    id: 'age', //sort by age by default on page load
    desc: true,
    },
    {
    id: 'lastName', //then sort by lastName if age is the same
    desc: true,
    },
    ],
    },
    });

    Default Sorting Features

    Client-side sorting is enabled by default. When sorting is toggled on for a column, the table will be sorted by the basic sorting algorithm by default.

    Multi-Sorting

    Multi-sorting is also enabled by default, which means you can sort by multiple columns at once. You can do this by clicking on a column header while holding down the shift key. The table will then be sorted by the previously sorted column, followed by the newly clicked column. Alternatively, if you want multi-sorting to be the default click behavior without the need to hold shift, you can set the isMultiSortEvent table option to () => true.

    const table = useMaterialReactTable({
    columns,
    data,
    isMultiSortEvent: () => true, //multi-sorting will be the default click behavior without the need to hold shift
    });

    You can limit the number of columns that can be sorted at once by setting the maxMultiSortColCount prop, or you can disable multi-sorting entirely by setting the enableMultiSort table option to false.

    Sorting Removal

    By default, users can remove a sort on a column by clicking through the sort direction options or selecting "Clear Sort" from the column actions menu. You can disable this feature by setting the enableSortingRemoval table option to false.

    const table = useMaterialReactTable({
    columns,
    data,
    enableSortingRemoval: false, //users will not be able to remove a sort on a column
    });

    Sort Direction

    By default, columns with string datatypes will sort alphabetically in ascending order, but columns with number datatypes will sort numerically in descending order. You can change the default sort direction per column by specifying the sortDescFirst column option to either true or false. You can also change the default sort direction globally by setting the sortDescFirst table option to either true or false.

    Demo

    Open StackblitzOpen Code SandboxOpen on GitHub
    VioletDoeSan FranciscoCalifornia100000
    MasonZhangSacramentoCalifornia100000
    LebronJamesIndianapolisIndiana40000
    JosephWilliamsValentineNebraska100000
    AllisonBrownOmahaNebraska10000
    HarrySmithHickmanNebraska20000
    SallyWilliamsonAllianceNebraska30000
    NoahBrownToledoOhio50000
    MichaelMcGinnisHarrisonburgVirginia150000
    1-9 of 9

    Source Code

    1import {
    2 MaterialReactTable,
    3 useMaterialReactTable,
    4 type MRT_ColumnDef,
    5} from 'material-react-table';
    6import { data, type Person } from './makeData';
    7import { Button } from '@mui/material';
    8
    9const columns: MRT_ColumnDef<Person>[] = [
    10 {
    11 accessorKey: 'firstName',
    12 header: 'First Name',
    13 sortDescFirst: false, //sort first name in ascending order by default on first sort click (default for non-numeric columns)
    14 },
    15 //column definitions...
    29 {
    30 accessorKey: 'salary',
    31 header: 'Salary',
    32 sortDescFirst: true, //sort salary in descending order by default on first sort click (default for numeric columns)
    33 },
    34];
    35
    36const Example = () => {
    37 const table = useMaterialReactTable({
    38 columns,
    39 data,
    40 isMultiSortEvent: () => true, //now no need to hold `shift` key to multi-sort
    41 maxMultiSortColCount: 3, //prevent more than 3 columns from being sorted at once
    42 initialState: {
    43 sorting: [
    44 { id: 'state', desc: false }, //sort by state in ascending order by default
    45 { id: 'city', desc: true }, //then sort by city in descending order by default
    46 ],
    47 },
    48 renderTopToolbarCustomActions: ({ table }) => (
    49 <Button onClick={() => table.resetSorting(true)}>
    50 Clear All Sorting
    51 </Button>
    52 ),
    53 });
    54
    55 return <MaterialReactTable table={table} />;
    56};
    57
    58export default Example;
    59

    Sorting Functions

    By default, Material React Table will use the basic sorting function for all columns.

    There are six built-in sorting functions you can choose from: alphanumeric, alphanumericCaseSensitive, text, textCaseSensitive, datetime, and basic. You can learn more about these built-in sorting functions in the TanStack Table Sorting API docs.

    Add Custom Sorting Functions

    If none of these sorting functions meet your needs, you can add your own custom sorting functions by specifying more sorting functions in the sortingFns table option.

    const table = useMaterialReactTable({
    columns,
    data,
    sortingFns: {
    //will add a new sorting function to the list of other sorting functions already available
    myCustomSortingFn: (rowA, rowB, columnId) => // your custom sorting logic
    },
    })

    Change Sorting Function Per Column

    You can now choose a sorting function for each column by either passing a string value of the built-in sorting function names to the sortingFn column option or by passing a custom sorting function to the sortingFn column option.

    const columns = [
    {
    accessorKey: 'name',
    header: 'Name',
    sortingFn: 'textCaseSensitive', //use the built-in textCaseSensitive sorting function instead of the default basic sorting function
    },
    {
    accessorKey: 'age',
    header: 'Age',
    //use your own custom sorting function instead of any of the built-in sorting functions
    sortingFn: (rowA, rowB, columnId) => // your custom sorting logic
    },
    ];

    Manual Server-Side Sorting

    If you are working with large data sets, you may want to let your back-end APIs handle all of the sorting and pagination processing instead of doing it client-side. You can do this by setting the manualSorting table option to true. This will disable the default client-side sorting and pagination features and will let you implement your own sorting and pagination logic.

    When manualSorting is set to true, Material React Table assumes that your data is already sorted by the time you are passing it to the table.

    If you need to sort your data in a back-end API, then you will also probably need access to the internal sorting state from the table. You can do this by managing the sorting state yourself and then passing it to the table via the state table option. You can also pass a callback function to the onSortingChange prop, which will be called whenever the sorting state changes internally in the table

    const [sorting, setSorting] = useState([]);
    const table = useMaterialReactTable({
    columns,
    data,
    manualSorting: true,
    state: { sorting },
    onSortingChange: setSorting,
    });
    useEffect(() => {
    //do something with the sorting state when it changes
    //or use table.getState().sorting
    }, [sorting]);
    return <MaterialReactTable table={table} />;

    Remote Sorting Example

    Here is the full Remote Data example showing how to implement server-side sorting, filtering, and pagination with Material React Table.

    Demo

    No records to display

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    Source Code

    1import { useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react';
    2import {
    3 MaterialReactTable,
    4 useMaterialReactTable,
    5 type MRT_ColumnDef,
    6 type MRT_ColumnFiltersState,
    7 type MRT_PaginationState,
    8 type MRT_SortingState,
    9} from 'material-react-table';
    10
    11type UserApiResponse = {
    12 data: Array<User>;
    13 meta: {
    14 totalRowCount: number;
    15 };
    16};
    17
    18type User = {
    19 firstName: string;
    20 lastName: string;
    21 address: string;
    22 state: string;
    23 phoneNumber: string;
    24};
    25
    26const Example = () => {
    27 //data and fetching state
    28 const [data, setData] = useState<User[]>([]);
    29 const [isError, setIsError] = useState(false);
    30 const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(false);
    31 const [isRefetching, setIsRefetching] = useState(false);
    32 const [rowCount, setRowCount] = useState(0);
    33
    34 //table state
    35 const [columnFilters, setColumnFilters] = useState<MRT_ColumnFiltersState>(
    36 [],
    37 );
    38 const [globalFilter, setGlobalFilter] = useState('');
    39 const [sorting, setSorting] = useState<MRT_SortingState>([]);
    40 const [pagination, setPagination] = useState<MRT_PaginationState>({
    41 pageIndex: 0,
    42 pageSize: 10,
    43 });
    44
    45 //if you want to avoid useEffect, look at the React Query example instead
    46 useEffect(() => {
    47 const fetchData = async () => {
    48 if (!data.length) {
    49 setIsLoading(true);
    50 } else {
    51 setIsRefetching(true);
    52 }
    53
    54 const url = new URL(
    55 '/api/data',
    56 process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production'
    57 ? 'https://www.material-react-table.com'
    58 : 'http://localhost:3000',
    59 );
    60 url.searchParams.set(
    61 'start',
    62 `${pagination.pageIndex * pagination.pageSize}`,
    63 );
    64 url.searchParams.set('size', `${pagination.pageSize}`);
    65 url.searchParams.set('filters', JSON.stringify(columnFilters ?? []));
    66 url.searchParams.set('globalFilter', globalFilter ?? '');
    67 url.searchParams.set('sorting', JSON.stringify(sorting ?? []));
    68
    69 try {
    70 const response = await fetch(url.href);
    71 const json = (await response.json()) as UserApiResponse;
    72 setData(json.data);
    73 setRowCount(json.meta.totalRowCount);
    74 } catch (error) {
    75 setIsError(true);
    76 console.error(error);
    77 return;
    78 }
    79 setIsError(false);
    80 setIsLoading(false);
    81 setIsRefetching(false);
    82 };
    83 fetchData();
    84 // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
    85 }, [
    86 columnFilters, //re-fetch when column filters change
    87 globalFilter, //re-fetch when global filter changes
    88 pagination.pageIndex, //re-fetch when page index changes
    89 pagination.pageSize, //re-fetch when page size changes
    90 sorting, //re-fetch when sorting changes
    91 ]);
    92
    93 const columns = useMemo<MRT_ColumnDef<User>[]>(
    94 () => [
    95 {
    96 accessorKey: 'firstName',
    97 header: 'First Name',
    98 },
    99 //column definitions...
    117 ],
    118 [],
    119 );
    120
    121 const table = useMaterialReactTable({
    122 columns,
    123 data,
    124 enableRowSelection: true,
    125 getRowId: (row) => row.phoneNumber,
    126 initialState: { showColumnFilters: true },
    127 manualFiltering: true,
    128 manualPagination: true,
    129 manualSorting: true,
    130 muiToolbarAlertBannerProps: isError
    131 ? {
    132 color: 'error',
    133 children: 'Error loading data',
    134 }
    135 : undefined,
    136 onColumnFiltersChange: setColumnFilters,
    137 onGlobalFilterChange: setGlobalFilter,
    138 onPaginationChange: setPagination,
    139 onSortingChange: setSorting,
    140 rowCount,
    141 state: {
    142 columnFilters,
    143 globalFilter,
    144 isLoading,
    145 pagination,
    146 showAlertBanner: isError,
    147 showProgressBars: isRefetching,
    148 sorting,
    149 },
    150 });
    151
    152 return <MaterialReactTable table={table} />;
    153};
    154
    155export default Example;
    156

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