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Sort Widgets

When to Use

Use this guide when you have exposed sort criteria and want radio buttons or links instead of dropdowns, or want to combine sort_by and sort_order into a single control.

Decision

Plugin ID Class Title
default DefaultWidget Default (select dropdown)
bef RadioButtons Radio Buttons
bef_links Links Links

All sort widgets are always applicable — isApplicable() returns TRUE for all filter types.

Sort configuration:

Option Config Key Default Purpose
Combine sort advanced.combine FALSE Merge sort_by and sort_order into one element
Combine param advanced.combine_param 'sort_bef_combine' Query parameter name for combined sort
Combine rewrite advanced.combine_rewrite '' Rewrite combined option labels
Reset sort advanced.reset FALSE Add a "Reset sort" option
Reset label advanced.reset_label '' Label for the reset option
Collapsible advanced.collapsible FALSE Wrap in collapsible details element
Is secondary advanced.is_secondary FALSE Move to secondary options panel

Pattern

# Sort combine — before:
Sort by: [Title] [Date] [Author]
Order:   [Asc]   [Desc]

# Sort combine — after (single element):
[Title Asc] [Title Desc] [Date Asc] [Date Desc] [Author Asc] [Author Desc]

Combined key format: {sort_by}_{sort_order} (e.g., title_ASC). BEF unpacks it on submit.

Combine rewrite format — one per line, current_label|new_label: 

Post date Asc|Oldest first
Post date Desc|Newest first
Title Asc|A → Z
Title Desc|Z → A

Leave replacement blank to remove an option. Options reorder to match rewrite order.

Multiple BEF Views on same page: Change combine_param from default sort_bef_combine to a unique value per View to prevent query parameter collisions.

Common Mistakes

  • Wrong: Enabling sort combine without exposed sort order → Right: "Allow people to choose the sort order" must be enabled in the View's exposed form settings.
  • Wrong: Leaving reset label blank → Right: The reset label cannot be blank. Set a label like "Default sort" or "Reset".
  • Wrong: Using default sort_bef_combine for multiple Views on the same page → Right: Change combine_param to a unique value per View.

See Also