mikebranski · March 17, 2025 01:40 · Oct 5, 2015 · Oct 5, 2015
diff --git a/Keep Column Sorted in Google Sheets.gs b/Keep Column Sorted in Google Sheets.gs
@@ -8,14 +8,48 @@
  * created a script that watches for when a cell is edited and triggers
  * an auto sort.
  *
+ * To Install:
+ *   1. Open your Google Sheet.
+ *   2. Navigate to Tools > Script editor…
+ *   3. Copy and paste this script in the editor.
+ *   4. Change the three constants at the start of the code below to reflect
+ *      your preferences.
+ *      - Note: My goal is to move these settings to a GUI and have this script
+ *              be installable as an add-on.
+ *   5. Give the script a name (e.g. "Keep Data Sorted") and hit save.
+ *
+ * To Use:
+ *   Simply edit your Google Sheet like normal. Any time you edit data in your
+ *   sort column (specified in `SORT_COLUMN_INDEX`), the script will re-sort
+ *   your rows.
+ *
+ *   If you are having trouble getting it to work, try the following in order:
+ *     1. Reload your spreadsheet.
+ *     2. Open the script editor (Tools > Script editor…), click the "Select
+ *        function" dropdown, choose `onInstall`, and hit Debug (the bug icon
+ *        that precedes the dropdown).
+ *     3. If that doesn't work, reach out via GitHub (link below) and ask for
+ *        help. You may also find that others have run into the same issue
+ *        and have already posted a solution.
+ *
  * @author Mike Branski (@mikebranski)
- * @OnlyCurrentDoc  Limits the script to only accessing the current spreadsheet.
+ * @link https://gist.github.com/mikebranski/285b60aa5ec3da8638e5
+ *
+ * @OnlyCurrentDoc Limits the script to only accessing the current spreadsheet.
  */
 
-var ASCENDING = false;
+// The numeric index of the column you wish to keep auto-sorted. A = 1, B = 2,
+// and so on.
 var SORT_COLUMN_INDEX = 2;
+// Whether to sort the data in ascending or descending order.
+var ASCENDING = false;
+// If you have header rows in your sheet, specify how many to exclude them from
+// the sort.
 var NUMBER_OF_HEADER_ROWS = 1;
 
+// No need to edit anything below this line for general use.
+// Make an improvement? Ping me on GitHub and let me know!
+
 // Keep track of the active sheet.
 var activeSheet;
 
@@ -27,7 +61,7 @@ var activeSheet;
 function autoSort(sheet) {
   // Get the entire set of data for this sheet.
   var range = sheet.getDataRange();
-  
+
   // Then, if there are any header rows, offset our range to remove them from
   // it; otherwise, they will end up being sorted as well.
   if (NUMBER_OF_HEADER_ROWS > 0) {
@@ -37,7 +71,7 @@ function autoSort(sheet) {
     // wanted support for those as well.
     range = range.offset(NUMBER_OF_HEADER_ROWS, 0);
   }
-  
+
   // Perform the actual sort.
   range.sort( {
     column: SORT_COLUMN_INDEX,
@@ -53,7 +87,7 @@ function autoSort(sheet) {
  */
 function onEdit(event) {
   var editedCell;
-  
+
   // Update the active sheet in case it changed.
   activeSheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
   // Get the cell that was just modified.
@@ -86,4 +120,3 @@ function onOpen(event) {
 function onInstall(event) {
   onOpen(event);
 }
-
diff --git a/Keep Column Sorted in Google Sheets.gs b/Keep Column Sorted in Google Sheets.gs
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+/**
+ * This Google Sheets script keeps data in the specified column sorted any time
+ * the data changes.
+ *
+ * After much research, there wasn't an easy way to automatically keep a column
+ * sorted in Google Sheets, and creating a second sheet to act as a "view" to
+ * my primary one in order to achieve that was not an option. Instead, I
+ * created a script that watches for when a cell is edited and triggers
+ * an auto sort.
+ *
+ * @author Mike Branski (@mikebranski)
+ * @OnlyCurrentDoc  Limits the script to only accessing the current spreadsheet.
+ */
+
+var ASCENDING = false;
+var SORT_COLUMN_INDEX = 2;
+var NUMBER_OF_HEADER_ROWS = 1;
+
+// Keep track of the active sheet.
+var activeSheet;
+
+/**
+ * Automatically sorts on the pre-defined column.
+ *
+ * @param {Sheet} sheet The sheet to sort.
+ */
+function autoSort(sheet) {
+  // Get the entire set of data for this sheet.
+  var range = sheet.getDataRange();
+
+  // Then, if there are any header rows, offset our range to remove them from
+  // it; otherwise, they will end up being sorted as well.
+  if (NUMBER_OF_HEADER_ROWS > 0) {
+    // Setting the second parameter of offset() to 0 to prevents it from
+    // shifting any columns. Note that row headers wouldn't make much
+    // sense here, but this is where you would modify it if you
+    // wanted support for those as well.
+    range = range.offset(NUMBER_OF_HEADER_ROWS, 0);
+  }
+
+  // Perform the actual sort.
+  range.sort( {
+    column: SORT_COLUMN_INDEX,
+    ascending: ASCENDING
+  } );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Triggers when a sheet is edited, and calls the auto sort function if the
+ * edited cell is in the column we're looking to sort.
+ *
+ * @param {Object} event The triggering event.
+ */
+function onEdit(event) {
+  var editedCell;
+
+  // Update the active sheet in case it changed.
+  activeSheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
+  // Get the cell that was just modified.
+  editedCell = activeSheet.getActiveCell();
+
+  // Only trigger a re-sort if the user edited data in the column they're
+  // sorting by; otherwise, we perform unnecessary additional sorts if
+  // the targeted sort column's data didn't change.
+  if (editedCell.getColumn() == SORT_COLUMN_INDEX) {
+    autoSort(activeSheet);
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Runs when the sheet is opened.
+ *
+ * @param {Object} event The triggering event.
+ */
+function onOpen(event) {
+  activeSheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
+  autoSort(activeSheet);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Runs when the add-on is installed; calls onOpen() to ensure any initializion
+ * work is done immediately.
+ *
+ * @param {Object} event The triggering event.
+ */
+function onInstall(event) {
+  onOpen(event);
+}
+