How to sort your items in the Project sheets

Sorting helps you control how items appear in your project sheet and how they are displayed in reports. 

 Why Sorting Is Useful

Sorting items helps you:

• Review items in alphabetical or numerical order
• Customize the order items appear in Project Sheets and reports
• Prepare cleaner presentations for clients or internal review

 1. Sort Items by Column

You can sort items based on a specific column.

1. Hover over the three dots next to the column header.
2. Choose the sorting option available for that column.

The sorting options depend on the column type.

For text columns, you may see:

• Sort A to Z
• Sort Z to A

For number columns, you may see:

• Sort high to low
• Sort low to high

For example, if you sort a product name column from A to Z, Fohlio will reorder the items alphabetically based on that column.

Note: Sorting by column cannot be undone. Make sure you want to apply the sort before selecting it. You can sort again using another column, but Fohlio will not automatically restore the previous item order.

 2. Sort Items Manually with Drag and Drop

You can also manually reorder items by dragging and dropping them in the project sheet.

1. Click and hold the item row you want to move.
2. Drag it to the desired position.
3. Drop it in place.

This is useful when you want a custom item order that is not based on alphabetical or numerical sorting.

 3. How Components Behave When Sorting

Components always stay connected to their parent item.

If you drag and drop a parent item, its components will move with it.

For example, if a sofa has fabric and leg components, those components will continue following the sofa when the sofa is moved.

Pro tip 💡: Use drag and drop when you want full control over the item order, especially before generating reports that follow the project sheet order.

 4. Sorting While Group By Is Enabled

When Group By is enabled, drag and drop is not available for manually reorganizing items.

For example, if you group items by Category, you cannot drag and drop items freely inside those groups.

However, you can still sort items by column while Group By is active. Items will be sorted within their grouped sections.

Note: Disable Group By if you need to manually drag and drop items into a custom order.

 5. Sort Items in Reports

Some reports include options to control how items are grouped and ordered.

For example, in the Advanced Data Sheet Report, you can choose to group items by:

• Areas
• Categories

If both options are enabled, Fohlio will organize items in this order:

1. Areas
2. Categories
3. Project sheet order

If both grouping options are disabled, the report will follow the same order used in the project sheet.

 6. Use Project Sheet Order in Reports

If you want a custom order in a report:

1. Disable grouping options in the report settings.
2. Go back to the project sheet.
3. Drag and drop items into the order you want.
4. Generate the report.

The report will follow the project sheet order when grouping options are turned off.

 Wrap-Up

Fohlio gives you several ways to sort and organize items depending on your workflow.

Use:

• Column sorting for alphabetical or numerical order
• Drag and drop for custom order
• Group By when you want items organized into sections
• Report grouping options when you want reports sorted by areas or categories
  
  

We hope this article was helpful for you. If you have follow up questions, reach out via Live Help.