DataTables allows ordering by multiple columns at the same time, which can be activated in a number of different ways:
columns.orderData option.columns.orderData option to specify a multiple column
order by default (for example [ [0,'asc'], [1,'asc'] ]).order() API method.Note that, the ability for the user to shift click to order multiple columns can be disabled through
the orderMulti 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.
The script used to perform the server-side processing for this table is shown below. Please note that this is just an example script using PHP. Server-side processing scripts can be written in any language, using the protocol described in the DataTables documentation.