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Sort Horizontally Node (Shapes > Sort)

Janne Brönner
  • Updated

What it does

This node sorts items horizontally based on their position in the document—from left to right or right to left. It helps organize items in a logical reading order.

Use it for

  • Sorting items by their horizontal position.
  • Ensuring consistent left-to-right or right-to-left order.
  • Preserving previously grouped vertical ranges when combining with vertical 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 horizontally.
  • Ranges (Optional): If you're using another sort node (e.g., Sort Vertically) 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 horizontally as if the items were grouped.
    • Items within each range are sorted horizontally 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 left to right or right to left according to their horizontal position.
  • Equality Ranges: Outputs the horizontal ranges used during sorting. These ranges help identify items that are close in horizontal 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 horizontal 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 horizontal position. Options include:

  • Left: Uses the left edge of the item.
  • Center: Uses the vertical center of the item.
  • Right: Uses the right edge of the item.

This setting affects how items are compared and sorted.

Sorting Direction

Specifies the horizontal order in which items are sorted. Options include:
  • From left to right
  • From right to left

Equality Threshold

Sets the maximum horizontal 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 shapes that belong to the same column or horizontal grouping.

Default: 0,200