Portfolio Sorting Option Simplified

Having trouble figuring out how to use the new sorting option for your portfolio.

         After reading all the info inside my portfolio, as well as all the posts on the various boards, this is a summary for those who are having trouble trying to figure out how to use the new portfolio sorting option.

         Your portfolio has an automatic default setting to place the newest item created at the top; this default setting is "0".

         The sorting feature now gives you the option to place whatever item you want in the top spot by assigning it a higher number than "0".

         The easiest way to achieve this would be to use 0 through 25, since each page displayed in your portfolio displays the first twenty-five items last created before it moves on to the second page or more.

So if you have 10 items in your folder, for example:
item1 item2 item3 item4 item5 item6 item7 item8 item9 item10
Item1 represents the newest created
Item 10 represents one that was created a while ago

         Now, if you would like item 4 to be first, you would assign it number 25, and item 8 to be second, you would assign it number 24. When you click the resort update button, your files will move to the new order like this:
item4 item8 item1 item2 item3 item5 item6 item7 item9 item10

         As you can see, the only items that actually moved are the ones that you assigned a new order to; the rest remain in their respective positions.

         But to see the new lineup for yourself, you must view your portfolio at your address
http://www.Writing.Com/authors/yourusername
for premium members
http://username.writing.com
which is the way a visitor would see your portfolio. There is a direct link to your address in the header of your portfolio.

         The order is not visible to you when you view your own portfolio unless you use the sorting option found just below the header. In the pull-down menu, there is an option to view your folder "Default Folder Order."

         In a nutshell, you are making your portfolio more organized for the viewer.

         As for this procedure, it cannot be undone. As the Story Master pointed out in one post, immediate action cannot be undone; it does not mean that it can not be redone. So, simply put, if you assign numbers and find that you still don't like the order, or the order is not quite the way you pictured it, you can assign numbers to the item again and alter the order until you get it the way you would like it to be.

         If you would like to try it out and find you do not like it, then just reassign a "0" to all your items in the folder and click update. This will take your folder back to the way it used to be.

         A minor point, but one that should be mentioned. If you assign a number sequence to each item in your folder, that is the order that it will follow. If you create a new item in that folder, its automatic number will be 0, and it will be found under all the other items that have assigned numbers. So, unless you want to do a lot of shifting every time you create a new item, I would only assign a number to those items that you want to be at the top of your folder.

Hope this helps those who need it.