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Sort Vertically Node (Shapes > Sort)

Janne Brönner
  • Updated

What it does

This node sorts items vertically based on their position in the document—from top to bottom or bottom to top. It helps organize items in a logical reading order.

Use it for

  • Sorting items by their vertical position.
  • Ensuring consistent top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top order.
  • Preserving previously grouped horizontal ranges when combining with horizontal sorting.

How to use it

  1. Drag and drop the node from the Node Library into your template:
    Node Library > Folder Shapes > Folder Sort
  2. Connect the node with other nodes in the Data Flow of your template.
  3. Specify the settings in the Node Properties task pane.

Node Input

  • Items: Connect a node that outputs the items you want to sort vertically.
  • Ranges (Optional): If you're using another sort node (e.g., Sort Horizontally) before this one, you can connect its Equality Ranges output. This ensures that items already grouped into ranges are not re-sorted globally. Instead:
    • The ranges are sorted vertically as if the items were grouped.
    • Items within each range are sorted vertically inside that range.

Node Output

This node provides two outputs, visible in the Node Result task pane:

  • Sorted Items: Outputs the list of items sorted from top to bottom or bottom to top according to their vertical position.
  • Equality Ranges: Outputs the vertical ranges used during sorting. These ranges help identify items that are close in vertical position. You can view the output in the Node Result task pane:
    • Start column: Index of the first item in the range.
    • Length column: Number of items in the range.

You can connect the Equality Ranges output port to the Ranges input port of another sort node.
This ensures that items already grouped into vertical ranges are not re-sorted globally.

Node Properties

Node Name

You can assign a custom name to the node to help identify its purpose within your template.

Measurement Point

Defines the reference point used to measure vertical position. Options include:

  • Top: Uses the top edge of the item.
  • Center: Uses the vertical center of the item.
  • Bottom: Uses the bottom edge of the item.

This setting affects how items are compared and sorted.

Sorting Direction

Specifies the vertical order in which items are sorted. Options include:
  • From top to bottom
  • From bottom to top

Equality Threshold

Sets the maximum vertical distance (in points) between items for them to be considered part of the same range.
This helps preserve relative positioning when sorting items that are visually aligned—such as text shapes that belong to the same line of text—ensuring they remain close together in the sorted output.

Default: 0,200