Alphanumeric sorting of files

File Sorting in Drive

The file manager in Drive uses alphanumeric sorting to display files. It interprets the characters in the file name as a string, which is evaluated sequentially. A "1" always comes before a "2", and a "2" comes after an "11". This can lead to unexpected effects, such as the following sorting order:

1_Invoice-January.pdf
11_Invoice-November.pdf
12_Invoice-December.pdf
2_Invoice-February.pdf

Figure 1: Single-digit numbering is not a good idea. Leading zeros solve the problem.

If you want to display these invoices sorted by month, it helps to add the month number at the beginning of the file name in two-digit notation (that is, with a leading zero):

01_Invoice-January.pdf
02_Invoice-February.pdf
11_Invoice-November.pdf
12_Invoice-December.pdf

Figure 2: Invoices or similar files can be sorted easily by month.

Figure 3: For letters, alphabetical order applies.

If you want to store and display a larger number of files in sorted order, it is advisable to start with two (or more) leading zeros, for example 001-Invoice-Customer1.pdf. This allows space for up to 999 entries.