Default Sort

Overview

Every table in a portal can carry a default sort: a field and a direction (ascending or descending) that decides the order rows appear in when the table first loads for an end user. The default is "No default sort", which shows records in the order the Airtable API returns them.

Use a default sort when the natural reading order of a table is obvious (recent first, alphabetical by name, due-date ascending) and you want that order to happen without the user having to click a column header.

Setting a Default Sort

1. 1

   Open the table's permissions panel

   In the portal admin, open the role you want to configure and expand the table. Scroll to the "Default Sort" section, which sits alongside the table's permissions and record filter.

2. 2

   Pick a field

   Use the "Sort by" dropdown to choose which field to sort on. Any viewable field is eligible, except for linked record fields pointing back to the user table.

3. 3

   Pick a direction

   Pick "Ascending (A-Z)" or "Descending (Z-A)". The exact meaning depends on the field type:

   • Text fields: alphabetical
   • Numbers, currency, percent, rating: smallest first (asc) or largest first (desc)
   • Dates: oldest first (asc) or newest first (desc)
   • Single select: order of the defined options

Sort settings save with the rest of the portal configuration. The next time an end user loads the table, records come back in the order you picked.

User-Initiated Sorting

A default sort is only the starting order. End users can still click a column header in the portal to re-sort the table by any field, in either direction. Their sort choice lasts for the current view but does not overwrite the default you set.

Refreshing the page, navigating away and back, or re-logging in returns the table to the default sort.

Removing a Default Sort

Open the Default Sort section and set the field dropdown back to "No default sort". Records will appear in the Airtable API's natural order on the next load.

Tips

• Pair with record filtering. A filtered table usually has a natural sort order too. Setting both at once saves your users clicks.
• Per role. Each role has its own default sort. A staff role might default to "oldest first" for triage while a client role defaults to "newest first".
• Primary-field sorts are common. Sorting by the Airtable primary field (usually the record's name) gives an alphabetical list that matches how users think about their own data.

Next Steps

• Viewing Records - How the table view renders for end users
• Record Filtering - Narrow which rows are visible
• Table Permissions - Control which tables appear at all