Sort Widgets

When to Use

When you have exposed sort criteria and want to render them as radio buttons or links instead of dropdowns, or want to combine sort_by and sort_order into a single control.

Decision: Available Sort Widgets

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).

Decision: 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
Collapsible label	`advanced.collapsible_label`	'Sort options'	Details element title
Is secondary	`advanced.is_secondary`	FALSE	Move to secondary options panel

Pattern: Sort Combine

When combine is TRUE, BEF merges sort_by and sort_order into a single select/radio/links element:

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

# After combine (single element):
[Title Asc] [Title Desc] [Date Asc] [Date Desc] [Author Asc] [Author Desc]

The combined key format is {sort_by}_{sort_order} (e.g., title_ASC). On submit, sortCombineSubmitForm() unpacks it back to separate sort_by and sort_order values.

Pattern: Combine Rewrite

Rewrite combined labels for user-friendly display:

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.

Pattern: Multiple BEF Instances

When multiple Views with BEF are on the same page, the combine_param prevents query parameter collisions. Change from default sort_bef_combine to something unique per View.

Common Mistakes

Combine doesn't work — "Allow people to choose the sort order" must be enabled in the View's exposed form settings. Without exposed sort order, there's nothing to combine.
Reset sort not appearing — The reset label cannot be blank. Set a label like "Default sort" or "Reset".
Collapsible label blank — If the collapsible label is empty, there's no way to show/hide the sort options. Always provide a label.