$pages->sort() method

Set the “sort” value for given $page while adjusting siblings, or re-build sort for its children

This method is primarily applicable to manually sorted pages. If pages are automatically sorted by some other field, this method isn’t useful unless using the “re-build children” option, which may be helpful if converting a page’s children from auto-sort to manual sort.

The default behavior of this method is to set the “sort” value for the given $page, and adjust the sort value of sibling pages having the same or greater sort value, to ensure all are unique and in order without gaps.

The alternate behavior of this method is to re-build the sort values of all children of the given $page. This is done by specifying boolean true for the $value argument. When used, duplicate sort values and gaps are removed from all children.

Do you need this method?
If you are wondering whether you need to use this method for something, chances are that you do not. This method is mostly applicable for internal core use, as ProcessWire manages Page sort values on its own internally for the most part.

Example

// set $page to have sort=5, moving any 5+ sort pages ahead
$pages->sort($page, 5);

// re-build sort values for children of $page, removing duplicates and gaps
$pages->sort($page, true);

Usage

// basic usage
$int = $pages->sort(Page $page);

// usage with all arguments
$int = $pages->sort(Page $page, $value = false);

Arguments

Name Type(s) Description

Name	Type(s)	Description
`page`	Page	Page to sort (or parent of pages to sort, if using $value=true option)
`value` (optional)	int, bool	Specify one of the following: Omit to set and use sort value from given $page. Specify sort value (integer) to save that value. Specify boolean true to instead rebuild sort for all of $page children.

page

Page

Page to sort (or parent of pages to sort, if using $value=true option)

value (optional)

int, bool

Specify one of the following:

Omit to set and use sort value from given $page.
Specify sort value (integer) to save that value.
Specify boolean true to instead rebuild sort for all of $page children.

Return value

int

Number of pages that had sort values adjusted

Exceptions

Method can throw exceptions on error:

WireException

Hooking $pages->sort(…)

You can add your own hook events that are executed either before or after the $pages->sort(…) method is executed. Examples of both are included below. A good place for hook code such as this is in your /site/ready.php file.

Hooking before

The 'before' hooks are called immediately before each $pages->sort(…) method call is executed. This type of hook is especially useful for modifying arguments before they are sent to the method.

$this->addHookBefore('Pages::sort', function(HookEvent $event) {
  // Get the object the event occurred on, if needed
  $pages = $event->object;

  // Get values of arguments sent to hook (and optionally modify them)
  $page = $event->arguments(0);
  $value = $event->arguments(1);

  /* Your code here, perhaps modifying arguments */

  // Populate back arguments (if you have modified them)
  $event->arguments(0, $page);
  $event->arguments(1, $value);
});

Hooking after

The 'after' hooks are called immediately after each $pages->sort(…) method call is executed. This type of hook is especially useful for modifying the value that was returned by the method call.

$this->addHookAfter('Pages::sort', function(HookEvent $event) {
  // Get the object the event occurred on, if needed
  $pages = $event->object;

  // An 'after' hook can retrieve and/or modify the return value
  $return = $event->return;

  // Get values of arguments sent to hook (if needed)
  $page = $event->arguments(0);
  $value = $event->arguments(1);

  /* Your code here, perhaps modifying the return value */

  // Populate back return value, if you have modified it
  $event->return = $return;
});

$pages methods and properties

API reference based on ProcessWire core version 3.0.236