How to retrieve the details of sorted columns in Flutter DataTable (SfDataGrid)?.

In this article, we will show how to retrieve the details of sorted columns in Flutter DataTable.

Initialize the SfDataGrid widget with the necessary properties. In the DataGridSource class, override the performSorting method, which is triggered whenever sorting is performed. To track sorting information, maintain a list of SortColumnDetails. If columns are sorted, update the sortColumnsDetails list with the current sorting information by using DataGridSource.sortedColumns.

List<SortColumnDetails> sortColumnsDetails = <SortColumnDetails>[];

 @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(
        title: const Text('Syncfusion Flutter DataGrid'),
      ),
      body: Column(
        children: [
          TextButton(
            onPressed: () {
              String sortedDetails = '';
              for (var details in sortColumnsDetails) {
                sortedDetails += 'Column Name: ${details.name}\n';
                sortedDetails += 'Sort Direction: ${details.sortDirection}\n\n';
              }

              showDialog(
                context: context,
                builder: (BuildContext context) {
                  return AlertDialog(
                    title: const Text('Sorted Details'),
                    content: Text(sortedDetails),
                    actions: [
                      TextButton(
                        onPressed: () {
                          Navigator.of(context).pop();
                        },
                        child: const Text('Close'),
                      ),
                    ],
                  );
                },
              );
            },
            child: const Text('Sorted Details'),
          ),
          Expanded(
            child: SfDataGrid(
              source: employeeDataSource,
              allowSorting: true,
              columnWidthMode: ColumnWidthMode.fill,
              columns: getColumn,
            ),
          ),
        ],
      ),
    );
  }

class EmployeeDataSource extends DataGridSource {
…..

  @override
  Future<void> performSorting(List<DataGridRow> rows) async {
    // save the sort column details.
    if (sortedColumns.isNotEmpty) {
      sortColumnsDetails.clear();
      sortColumnsDetails.addAll(sortedColumns);
    }
    // clear the sort column details when the sorting is cleared.
    else if (sortedColumns.isEmpty) {
      sortColumnsDetails.clear();
    }

    super.performSorting(rows);
  }
}

You can download this example on GitHub.