Files/Folders/Sidebar items manual ordering

Submission

David Dahan

Sep 7, 2021

Board: Features
Status: Pending

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Files/Folders/Sidebar items manual ordering

I think it should be possible to order files and folders (by drag and drop) without relying on filename ordering or other metadata.

David Dahan

Sep 7, 2021

21

Rob GraceMay 7, 2021

This is only a limitation on mobile, the Mac version allows changing the sort order. But let's leave this ticket open to remind Edward (he's aware of it). If you have both, set the sort order on the Mac and it will synchronize to mobile

AmyApr 6, 2022

Rob Grace: How do you customize it on Mac? I have one but can't seem to find the way.

Eduard MetzgerMay 8, 2021

Anton Sklyar, reminded by Rob Grace's comment, you mean on iOS? Because we got a sort by preference on Mac under View in the menubar. I didn't add it to iOS though, however the preference syncs. It's a good point to add it also to iOS. It allows you to sort by title and achieve what you write about. Completely custom sorting is not built in because it's not supported by the filesystem (Finder), so I would have to add some custom solution on top of it.

Anton SklyarMay 8, 2021

Eduard Metzger: Yes, at first I meant iOS lacking that option. Thanks for pointing out that the setting syncs from macos to ios, good to know. But then I thought that it would be quite useful to be able to set custom sort options for a particular folder, not globally. Ulysses for example has that for note groups, and it is quite handy because for some “quick notes” sorting by update date is reasonable (as it keeps most relevant notes at your hand) whereas for “structured” notes this is not desirable (when you track your sprints/quarters, as in my case, or when you just write some book chapters or technical specification that is split into several parts, then sorting by name makes much more sense). BTW, Finder on macOS actually **has** that option (e.g. you can change files sorting / grouping for a particular folder), and I use it frequently. Haven’t checked whether it is supported in Files app on iOS though.

Eduard MetzgerMay 16, 2021

Anton Sklyar: Interesting, I didn't think of setting the sorting as per folder basis! A bit advanced, but lets see.

Jason HeydaschAug 10, 2021

It would be great to have the option to be able to manually sort the Notes section.

Anton SklyarSep 5, 2021

Jason Heydasch: I can imagine that manual sorting is much harder to implement as it cannot rely on filesystem sorting (and thus needs to store sorting order somewhere) and also involves non-trivial drag-and-drop experience to be implemented. Manual sorting can be achieved by sorting by name and adding numbers at the beginning of note titles. I agree that this is not very convenient but still a workaround.

Andy ParsonsDec 5, 2021

+1000 this is a fairly essential option for my workflow. In other apps, I am often rearranging files and folders based on priority, visibility and other statuses. Using naming to accomplish something similar is painful. Perhaps allow manual ordering of folders only to start?

Brad MossAug 1, 2022

WANT very much!

Kevin HAug 1, 2022

Ability to at the very least pin specific files to the top of the list is really necessary.

DavidNov 12, 2022

Eduard Metzger There are a few duplicates I think, we should combine them to make this case stronger - https://noteplan.canny.io/general-feature-request/p/filesfolders-manual-ordering - https://noteplan.canny.io/general-feature-request/p/rearrange-items-in-the-sidebar - (maybe) https://noteplan.canny.io/general-feature-request/p/favorite-notesfolders-and-pinning-notes-to-the-top-of-the-list Really hoping this is going to happen at some not too distant future 🙏

Eduard MetzgerJan 6, 2023

David: Thanks for bringing up possible duplicates, but they are slightly different. I merged one, but even that was distinct in the way that you can change sorting on a per folder basis. But similar enough!

Ge KeAug 6, 2023

I would even be good with the need to still prepend folder names with numbers to force sorting - but then have the UI hide a certain pattern. For example, if NotePlan decided to use the pattern -##- and then I named my folders -10-First Folder -20-Second Folder -21-Third folder And then the UI hid the -##- portion of the folder name so in the sidebar I only see First Folder Second Folder Third folder

Aaron KovalchikNov 14, 2023

Manual sort should be available in all apps with lists of items. Scrivener is the gold standard

Russell DurhamFeb 29, 2024

Really wishing I could just... manually order my folders/notes... Confused as to why this isn't yet possible

PHMay 23, 2024

this is a problem that I and many others have with other Note apps as well. It's a simple concept but extremely important to users, so much so it can play a significant part in their decision to keep using an app or not. This is because in many people's systems, the order of folders/notes can be directly linked to logical grouping and more importantly Priority. I'm not sure if the importance of this ability is being downplayed or if it is difficult to implement, but it would be disappointing if it didn't make the cut.

Luis Chaves RodriguezMay 28, 2024

this and chronological sorting are very important to me

Lou GreenwoodSep 25, 2024

It's almost 2025, adding a +1 here... I'm trying out Noteplan as a replacement to Things... it's so close in many respects and beats it in many others. But being able to manage sorting to meet my needs instead of being forced into the paradigm imposed by the developers is one of those things which is killing it's chances! Imagine a "normal" person downloads it from the app store, they try to sort stuff in the side bar like any usual person expects (using `finder` as an example) and they're implicitly told "no, you can't manually sort, instead use this archaic, file system sorting method... oh, and make sure that you use the imaginary number `00` because on some file systems `2` comes after `10`". Like, I said... it's almost 2025. AI will take my job in the next few years but here I am, being forced to manual sorting using imaginary numbers in file names instead of just using normal, everyday UX patterns. ✌

Lou GreenwoodSep 25, 2024

Also, since `Option to reorder the sidebar` was merged in... Also a +1 for being able to re-order and even remove other sidebar entries. I don't want search as a top-level sidebar entry, search isn't more important than my projects, it's an ancillary tool, not a "category". I don't want want filters as a top-level thing... these are just smart folders with a pre-defined filtering category. I want to quickly & easily get to my data when I use the app, I don't want visual clutter or snags which every time I use the app trigger the thought "why is __this__ thing here, I don't want it here, I didn't ask for it here, but here it is poking me in the eye when I just want to do my task". 😉

DavidJun 22, 2025

+1 to this!

RominaJun 23, 2025

Please implement this. I really need this.