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Sort Order of Look-ups

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Doug_Jaeger
5 - Automation Enthusiast
5 - Automation Enthusiast

We are using look-ups to make a table of contents for building a website. The look-up is bringing in the data, separated by commas which is great. The one thing that we cannot figure out, is how to adjust the sort order.

This is the sort order from the source table (desired)-
Screen Shot 2020-08-17 at 9.02.48 AM

and this is the order that it is being presented in…
Screen Shot 2020-08-17 at 9.02.36 AM

We have tried to edit different lines to see if the modified data plays a role, not able to find any documentation on this.

4 Replies 4

Hi @Doug_Jaeger :raised_hand_with_fingers_splayed:

The system decides on the order based on the order that you originally entered them into the system. To override this, create or use an existing view that has your items in the order that you would like them and then in the other table (Company?), select to Limit record selection to a view.

image

HTH,
Nathalie@VAcePro.com

Doug_Jaeger
5 - Automation Enthusiast
5 - Automation Enthusiast

thanks for your reply…
This works for “Linked records”, but not on “Look-Ups”.
Screen Shot 2020-08-17 at 1.09.47 PM
Property Manual is a “look-up” of pages that are ordered in a separate Table.
Screen Shot 2020-08-17 at 1.10.00 PM
Here they are listed in the desired order…
Screen Shot 2020-08-17 at 1.11.41 PM
when editing the column there are no options for locking to a view.

Hi @Doug_Jaeger,

@Nathalie_Collins misunderstood your question — what she was talking about is the sort order in which the records are displayed in the pop-up window when you are adding linked records into your linked record field. Her trick is a great little “hidden trick” of Airtable, for making it easier to add records within a linked field.

However, when it comes to lookup fields, the lookup field will only display its values in the same order that matches the order of your linked records that you previously chose within your linked record field.

In order to shuffle the sort order of your records that you’ve previously chosen within your linked record field, you’ll need to first expand your entire record by clicking on the blue double-headed arrow in the left margin (keyboard shortcut: space bar) or just expand the linked record field itself by clicking on the blue double-headed arrow within the field (keyboard shortcut: shift-space).

Then, you can drag-and-drop the order of your linked records around — and your lookup field will update itself accordingly.

@Doug_Jaeger:

On an unrelated note, I’m surprised to see your Lookup fields with blue boxes around them! This looks awesome! :slightly_smiling_face: You must have early access to a new feature that I don’t yet have access to!

What happens when you click on those blue boxes in the lookup field? I’m assuming that it simply opens up that linked record within a pop-up window?