Sort for Only You vs. Sort for All Viewers

aemerson1325

It would be super helpful to allow users to sort a sheet without applying the sort to all individuals actively viewing the sheet. We have many shared sheets that are worked on in parallel, and when one person sorts it affects the other person's work.

Genevieve P.

Hi @aemerson1325

Filters in Sheets are currently user-specific, meaning that if I have a filter applied, you could have a different one applied and it won't change either of our views.

Are you perhaps talking about Sorting a sheet, or using a filter in a Report?

aemerson1325

@Genevieve P. yes to both! sorting in a sheet and filtering in a report

Genevieve P.

Hey @aemerson1325

Thanks for clarifying that you meant Sort, not filter! I've updated your post to allow others to vote on this idea 🙂

For allowing Editors to change the Filters in a Report without affecting the view for other members, it would be helpful to have this be a completely separate Idea post as these are different features. That way we can gather different votes on both ideas to see what would be more valuable for our members. It would also be helpful to hear an exact scenario where this would be ideal for you.

Thanks!

Genevieve

JMitchell

I agree that this is 110% necessary. I know there are "workaround" suggestions such as reports, however, we need a solution that does not involve a workaround. Sorting and filtering should be user-specific.

MariaCurtis

Hi! Can you please allow the sheet owner to determine the Default way a sheet is sorted, but allow others to change the sort just for their personal view? We have had a few instances where someone changes the sort order on a sheet, not knowing it changes the order for everyone else who has access to that sheet.

Or at least allow an "Undo Sort" button so a sheet owner or admin can revert back to original view if needed?

PM_Reeves

Hi Maria,

not sure if it's any use to you, but I achieve this through Filters.

I have several sheets and 5 other PM's, and have created a filter for each, then just de-select the filter when I want the holistic view.

It's not an ideal solution, but it works for us.

Have a great day.

MariaCurtis

Hi @PM_Reeves

Yes, we use LOTS of filters as well. But that's slightly different than sorting and re-ordering. Thank you though! I am open to hearing other potential workarounds anyone has!

vival

Any update on this @Genevieve P. ? It literally makes my life miserable.

The need for one person to present and view data one way shouldn't mean everyone else is obligated to look at it the same way. We don't all have the same brain nor do we execute the same functions, or do the same things with the data.
If Smartsheet can't allow for user custom views, it really isn't all that smart.
It also disrupts our collaborative efforts, impacts individuals in their work; I find it disempowering!
Filtering is not the same as sorting!

Please consider this request a big need <3

I'm most grateful and I hope SmartSheet can SORT IT OUT for us!

TylerB

I agree. This would be very useful for my team as well.

ksmith1

Yes, I would love an UNDO button. Just the other day, someone sorted a sheet and changed it for everyone. We have filter built but they didn't use them. I wish there was a way to only allow the sort option for owners and admins.

johngraham78

@Genevieve P. , responding to your questions months ago about explaining specific instances of this, where sorting published reports in my case would be helpful.

I have a list of internal, educational sessions we've hosted. Each session has a title, date, host, and speaker. While the default sorting by date might be useful for some, it would be of benefit for others to sort by the speaker or host. Currently this cannot be done with a read-only, published report. I am trying to move away from Sharepoint's list functionality, but currently any column is a sortable one.

Does that help?

Firebott

Having this feature would be an immense time saver for my team. A use case for us is that we are developing a client activation checklist where 6 people are adding in their team-specific tasks. They need to see ALL of the tasks because of how they relate to one another. As each person is adding in their tasks, they have different sorting preferences. A filter will not work because they need to see all tasks holistically.