Sorting in EJ2 JavaScript Gantt control

24 Jan 202424 minutes to read

Sorting enables you to sort data in the ascending or descending order. To sort a column, click the column header.

To sort multiple columns, press and hold the CTRL key and click the column header. You can clear sorting of any one of the multi-sorted columns by pressing and holding the SHIFT key and clicking the specific column header.

To enable sorting in the Gantt control, set the allowSorting property to true. Sorting options can be configured through the sortSettings property.

To sort, inject the Sort module into the Gantt control.

ej.gantt.Gantt.Inject(ej.gantt.Sort);
var editingData = [
        {
            TaskID: 1,
            TaskName: 'Project Initiation',
            StartDate: new Date('04/02/2019'),
            EndDate: new Date('04/21/2019'),
            subtasks: [
                { TaskID: 2, TaskName: 'Identify Site location', StartDate: new Date('04/02/2019'), Duration: 4, Progress: 50 },
                { TaskID: 3, TaskName: 'Perform Soil test', StartDate: new Date('04/02/2019'), Duration: 4, Progress: 50  },
                { TaskID: 4, TaskName: 'Soil test approval', StartDate: new Date('04/02/2019'), Duration: 4, Progress: 50 },
            ]
        },
        {
            TaskID: 5,
            TaskName: 'Project Estimation',
            StartDate: new Date('04/02/2019'),
            EndDate: new Date('04/21/2019'),
            subtasks: [
                { TaskID: 6, TaskName: 'Develop floor plan for estimation', StartDate: new Date('04/04/2019'), Duration: 3, Progress: 50 },
                { TaskID: 7, TaskName: 'List materials', StartDate: new Date('04/04/2019'), Duration: 3, Progress: 50 },
                { TaskID: 8, TaskName: 'Estimation approval', StartDate: new Date('04/04/2019'), Duration: 3, Progress: 50 }
            ]
        },
    ];
var ganttChart = new ej.gantt.Gantt({
        dataSource: editingData,
		height:'450px',
		columns: [
            { field: 'TaskID', headerText: 'Task ID', textAlign: 'Left', width: '100' },
            { field: 'TaskName', headerText: 'Task Name', width: '250' },
            { field: 'StartDate', headerText: 'Start Date', width: '150' },
            { field: 'Duration', headerText: 'Duration', width: '150' },
            { field: 'Progress', headerText: 'Progress', width: '150' },
          ],
		allowSorting: true,
        taskFields: {
            id: 'TaskID',
            name: 'TaskName',
            startDate: 'StartDate',
            duration: 'Duration',
            progress: 'Progress',
            child: 'subtasks'
        }
});
ganttChart.appendTo('#Gantt');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Gantt</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Gantt Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/material.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
       
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="Gantt"></div>        
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

  • Gantt columns are sorted in the ascending order. If you click the already sorted column, the sort direction toggles.
  • To disable sorting for a particular column, set the columns.allowSorting property to false.

Sorting column on Gantt initialization

The Gantt control can be rendered with sorted columns initially, and this can be achieved by using the sortSettings property. You can add columns that are sorted initially in the sortSettings.columns collection defined with field and direction properties. The following code example shows how to add the sorted column to Gantt initialization.

ej.gantt.Gantt.Inject(ej.gantt.Sort);

var ganttChart = new ej.gantt.Gantt({
        dataSource: GanttData,
		height:'450px',
		taskFields: {
            id: 'TaskID',
            name: 'TaskName',
            startDate: 'StartDate',
			duration: 'Duration',
            progress: 'Progress',
			child: 'subtasks'
        },
		sortSettings: { columns: [{ field: 'TaskID', direction: 'Ascending' }, { field: 'TaskName', direction: 'Ascending' }] },
		allowSorting:true
});
ganttChart.appendTo('#Gantt');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Gantt</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Gantt Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
	<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/material.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
       
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="Gantt"></div>        
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Sorting column dynamically

Columns in the Gantt control can be sorted dynamically using the sortColumn method. The following code example demonstrates how to invoke the sortColumn method by clicking the custom button.

ej.gantt.Gantt.Inject(ej.gantt.Sort);

var ganttChart = new ej.gantt.Gantt({
        dataSource: GanttData,
		height:'450px',
		allowSorting: true,
		taskFields: {
            id: 'TaskID',
            name: 'TaskName',
            startDate: 'StartDate',
            duration: 'Duration',
            progress: 'Progress',
            child: 'subtasks'
        }
});
ganttChart.appendTo('#Gantt');

var sortBtn= new ej.buttons.Button();
sortBtn.appendTo('#sortColumn');

document.getElementById('sortColumn').addEventListener('click', () => {
    var ganttObj= document.getElementById('Gantt').ej2_instances[0];
	ganttObj.sortModule.sortColumn('TaskName',"Descending",false)
});
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Gantt</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Gantt Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
	<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/material.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
     <button id="sortColumn">Sort TaskName Column</button>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="Gantt"></div>        
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Clear all the sorted columns dynamically

In the Gantt control, you can clear all the sorted columns and return to previous position using the clearSorting public method. The following code snippet shows how to clear all the sorted columns by clicking the custom button.

ej.gantt.Gantt.Inject(ej.gantt.Sort);

var ganttChart = new ej.gantt.Gantt({
        dataSource: GanttData,
		height:'450px',
		taskFields: {
            id: 'TaskID',
            name: 'TaskName',
            startDate: 'StartDate',
			duration: 'Duration',
            progress: 'Progress',
		    child: 'subtasks'
        },
		sortSettings: { columns: [{ field: 'TaskID', direction: 'Ascending' }, { field: 'TaskName', direction: 'Ascending' }] },
		allowSorting:true
});
ganttChart.appendTo('#Gantt');

var clrBtn= new ej.buttons.Button();
clrBtn.appendTo('#clearSorting');

document.getElementById('clearSorting').addEventListener('click', () => {
	ganttChart.clearSorting();
});
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Gantt</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Gantt Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
	<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/material.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    <button id="clearSorting">Clear Sorting</button>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="Gantt"></div>        
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Sorting events

During the sort action, the Gantt control triggers two events. The actionBegin event triggers before the sort action starts, and the actionComplete event triggers after the sort action is completed.

ej.gantt.Gantt.Inject(ej.gantt.Sort);

var ganttChart = new ej.gantt.Gantt({
        dataSource: GanttData,
		height:'450px',
		taskFields: {
            id: 'TaskID',
            name: 'TaskName',
            startDate: 'StartDate',
			duration: 'Duration',
            progress: 'Progress',
			child: 'subtasks'
        },
		allowSorting:true,
		actionBegin: actionHandler,
        actionComplete: actionHandler
});
ganttChart.appendTo('#Gantt');

function actionHandler(args) {
    alert(args.requestType + ' ' + args.type); //custom Action
}
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Gantt</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Gantt Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
	<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/material.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
       
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="Gantt"></div>        
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

The args.requestType is the current action name. For example, for sorting the args.requestType, value is sorting.

Sorting Custom Columns

In Gantt, you can sort custom columns of different types like string, numeric, etc., By adding the custom column in the column collection,
you can perform initial sort using the sortSettings or you can also sort the column dynamically by a button click.

The following code snippets explains how to achieve this.

var GanttData = [
        {
            TaskID: 1,
            TaskName: 'Project Initiation',
            StartDate: new Date('04/02/2019'),
            EndDate: new Date('04/21/2019'),
            subtasks: [
                { TaskID: 2, TaskName: 'Identify Site location', StartDate: new Date('04/02/2019'), Duration: 4, Progress: 50, /*CustomColumn: 'BCustomColumn'*/ CustomColumn: '2' },
                { TaskID: 3, TaskName: 'Perform Soil test', StartDate: new Date('04/02/2019'), Duration: 4, Progress: 50, /*CustomColumn: 'BCustomColumn'*/ CustomColumn: '3'  },
                { TaskID: 4, TaskName: 'Soil test approval', StartDate: new Date('04/02/2019'), Duration: 4, Progress: 50, /*CustomColumn: 'BCustomColumn'*/ CustomColumn: '4' },
            ]
        },
        {
            TaskID: 5,
            TaskName: 'Project Estimation',
            StartDate: new Date('04/02/2019'),
            EndDate: new Date('04/21/2019'),
            subtasks: [
                { TaskID: 6, TaskName: 'Develop floor plan for estimation', StartDate: new Date('04/04/2019'), Duration: 3, Progress: 50, /*CustomColumn: 'BCustomColumn'*/ CustomColumn: '6' },
                { TaskID: 7, TaskName: 'List materials', StartDate: new Date('04/04/2019'), Duration: 3, Progress: 50, /*CustomColumn: 'BCustomColumn'*/ CustomColumn: '1' },
                { TaskID: 8, TaskName: 'Estimation approval', StartDate: new Date('04/04/2019'), Duration: 3, Progress: 50, /*CustomColumn: 'BCustomColumn'*/ CustomColumn: '5' }
            ]
        },
    ];

    var ganttChart = new ej.gantt.Gantt({
    dataSource: GanttData,
    height: '450px',
    allowSorting: true,
    taskFields: {
        id: 'TaskID',
        name: 'TaskName',
        startDate: 'StartDate',
        duration: 'Duration',
        progress: 'Progress',
        child: 'subtasks'
    },
    columns: [
        { field: 'TaskID', headerText: 'Task ID' },
        { field: 'Progress', headerText: 'Progress' },
        { field: 'TaskName', headerText: 'Task Name' },
        { field: 'StartDate', headerText: 'Start Date' },
        { field: 'Duration', headerText: 'Duration' },
        { field: 'CustomColumn', headerText: 'CustomColumn' }
    ]
});
ganttChart.appendTo('#Gantt');

var sortBtn= new ej.buttons.Button();
sortBtn.appendTo('#sortColumn');

document.getElementById('sortColumn').addEventListener('click', () => {
    var ganttObj= document.getElementById('Gantt').ej2_instances[0];
	ganttObj.sortModule.sortColumn('CustomColumn',"Ascending",false)
});
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Gantt</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Gantt Controls">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
	<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/material.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    <button id="sortColumn">Sort Custom Column</button>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="Gantt"></div>        
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Touch interaction

To perform tap action on a column header, trigger sorting operation to the selected column. A popup is displayed for multi-column sorting. To sort multiple columns, tap the popup, and then tap the desired column headers.

The following screenshot shows Gantt touch sorting,

Multiple Sorting