DataTables example - Multi-column ordering

DataTables allows ordering by multiple columns at the same time, which can be activated in a number of different ways:

  • User shift click on a column (added the clicked column as a secondary, tertiary etc ordering column).
  • On a per-column basis (i.e. order by a specific column and then a secondary column if the data in the first column is identical), through the orderData option.
  • Using the orderData option to specify a multiple column order by default (for example [ [0,'asc'], [1,'asc'] ]).
  • Through the order() API method.

Note that, the ability for the user to shift click to order multiple columns can be disabled through the orderMutli option.

The example below shows the first column having a secondary order applied to the second column in the table, vice-versa for the second column being tied directly to the first and the salary column to the first name column.

First name Last name Position Office Salary
Tiger Nixon System Architect Edinburgh $3,120
Garrett Winters Director Edinburgh $5,300
Ashton Cox Technical Author San Francisco $4,800
Cedric Kelly Javascript Developer Edinburgh $3,600
Jenna Elliott Financial Controller Edinburgh $5,300
Brielle Williamson Integration Specialist New York $4,525
Herrod Chandler Sales Assistant San Francisco $4,080
Rhona Davidson Integration Specialist Edinburgh $6,730
Colleen Hurst Javascript Developer San Francisco $5,000
Sonya Frost Software Engineer Edinburgh $3,600
Jena Gaines System Architect London $5,000
Quinn Flynn Financial Controller Edinburgh $4,200
Charde Marshall Regional Director San Francisco $5,300
Haley Kennedy Senior Marketing Designer London $4,800
Tatyana Fitzpatrick Regional Director London $2,875
Michael Silva Senior Marketing Designer London $3,750
Paul Byrd Javascript Developer New York $5,000
Gloria Little Systems Administrator New York $3,120
Bradley Greer Software Engineer London $3,120
Dai Rios System Architect Edinburgh $4,200
Jenette Caldwell Financial Controller New York $4,965
Yuri Berry System Architect New York $3,600
Caesar Vance Technical Author New York $4,965
Doris Wilder Sales Assistant Edinburgh $4,965
Angelica Ramos System Architect London $2,875
Gavin Joyce Developer Edinburgh $4,525
Jennifer Chang Regional Director London $4,080
Brenden Wagner Software Engineer San Francisco $3,750
Ebony Grimes Software Engineer San Francisco $2,875
Russell Chavez Director Edinburgh $3,600
Michelle House Integration Specialist Edinburgh $3,750
Suki Burks Developer London $2,875
Prescott Bartlett Technical Author London $6,730
Gavin Cortez Technical Author San Francisco $6,730
Martena Mccray Integration Specialist Edinburgh $4,080
Unity Butler Senior Marketing Designer San Francisco $3,750
Howard Hatfield Financial Controller San Francisco $4,080
Hope Fuentes Financial Controller San Francisco $4,200
Vivian Harrell System Architect San Francisco $4,965
Timothy Mooney Financial Controller London $4,200
Jackson Bradshaw Director New York $5,000
Miriam Weiss Support Engineer Edinburgh $4,965
Bruno Nash Software Engineer London $4,200
Odessa Jackson Support Engineer Edinburgh $3,600
Thor Walton Developer New York $3,600
Finn Camacho Support Engineer San Francisco $4,800
Elton Baldwin Data Coordinator Edinburgh $6,730
Zenaida Frank Software Engineer New York $4,800
Zorita Serrano Software Engineer San Francisco $5,300
Jennifer Acosta Javascript Developer Edinburgh $2,875
Cara Stevens Sales Assistant New York $4,800
Hermione Butler Director London $4,080
Lael Greer Systems Administrator London $3,120
Jonas Alexander Developer San Francisco $5,300
Shad Decker Regional Director Edinburgh $5,300
Michael Bruce Javascript Developer Edinburgh $4,080
Donna Snider System Architect New York $3,120

The Javascript shown below is used to initialise the table shown in this example:

$(document).ready(function() { $('#example').dataTable( { columnDefs: [ { targets: [ 0 ], orderData: [ 0, 1 ] }, { targets: [ 1 ], orderData: [ 1, 0 ] }, { targets: [ 4 ], orderData: [ 4, 0 ] } ] } ); } );

In addition to the above code, the following Javascript library files are loaded for use in this example:

The HTML shown below is the raw HTML table element, before it has been enhanced by DataTables:

This example uses a little bit of additional CSS beyond what is loaded from the library files (below), in order to correctly display the table. The additional CSS used is shown below:

The following CSS library files are loaded for use in this example to provide the styling of the table:

This table loads data by Ajax. The latest data that has been loaded is shown below. This data will update automatically as any additional data is loaded.