# MacOS - how to select secondary sort column?
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/macos-how-to-select-secondary-sort-column/54662
**Category:** Mac
**Created:** [October 8, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/macos-how-to-select-secondary-sort-column/54662 "2021-10-08T17:32:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@stant](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/stant)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/macos-how-to-select-secondary-sort-column/54662/1 "2021-10-08T17:32:45Z")
In the Windows version, I could click on the "Path" column to sort on those values, and then Ctrl-Click on the Filename column to make that the secondary sort. How can I do this in the Mac version? I've tried Cmd-Click, Ctrl-Click and Opt-Click and none of them do it. Thx!
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2021, 6:11pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/macos-how-to-select-secondary-sort-column/54662/2 "2021-10-08T18:11:53Z")
> [@stant](#):
>
> In the Windows version, I could click on the "Path" column to sort on those values, and then Ctrl-Click on the Filename column to make that the secondary sort
This is not completely true - you simply clicked on a second column, no Ctrl was/is necessary. So perhaps that also works on the Mac.
---
### Author:  [@stant](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/stant)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2021, 6:40pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/macos-how-to-select-secondary-sort-column/54662/3 "2021-10-08T18:40:00Z")
Pardon me, I mispoke - in the Windows version, SHIFT-clicking does a secondary sort. If you click on another column without Shift, it changes the PRIMARY sort to the new column. It is necessary to hold down shift to do a secondary sort in the Windows version, but this doesn't work on the Mac version.
Example: you have folder open that contains subfolders, and you want the files to be listed in order of file path (primary sort) and within each folder sorted by filename (secondary sort). In Windows version, you click on the Path column and then Shift-click on the filename column. I would like that to work on the Mac version as well.
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/macos-how-to-select-secondary-sort-column/54662/4 "2021-10-08T18:49:10Z")
> [@stant](#):
>
> It is necessary to hold down shift to do a secondary sort in the Windows version
Again: in the WIndows version, a simple click is enough. No modifier required.
To sort by e.g. albums ascending by track number ...
first click on Track
then click on Album.
Done
---
### Author:  [@stant](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/stant)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2021, 7:27pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/macos-how-to-select-secondary-sort-column/54662/5 "2021-10-08T19:27:43Z")
I'm sorry, I just double-checked now in the latest Windows version (v3.10) and we may be misunderstanding each other.
If you click on the Path column, it sorts by Path. If you then click on the Filename column, it sorts by Filename and you LOSE the sorting on the Path column you previously had.
If you want a primary sort on Path and SECONDARY sort on the Filename simultaneously, you must click on the Path column and then Shift-Click on the Filename column to sort the files within each Path.
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2021, 7:39pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/macos-how-to-select-secondary-sort-column/54662/6 "2021-10-08T19:39:14Z")
I don't know what you have defined for your path column. If that contains the variable %\_path% (as it does in my installation) then the path already contains the filename. And a filename (including the path component) is already unique so that you get the correct sorted order already.
Sorting then by filename should not change a lot unless you have a similar filename in a different folder (track01.mp3 would be such a name).
AFAIK any modifier does not make any difference to a simple click on the column header.
But if you are happy with shift or ctrl - fine.
Your original query was about the Mac version. have you tried to simply click in the order:
first the column with the more different data
then the column with the more general data
... which is sort of the reverse way: to sort by album and then by track, first click on track, then on album
---
### Author:  [@stant](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/stant)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2021, 9:10pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/macos-how-to-select-secondary-sort-column/54662/7 "2021-10-08T21:10:28Z")
It seems we are getting further and further away from a consensus. In my installation of v3.10, the Path column contents starts with C:, ends with a trailing backslash, and the filename is NOT included in the Path column. The filename is only present in the separate Filename column. I looked at my configuration (which I have never touched), and the Path column is associated with %\_folderpath%, not %\_path%. Changing it to %\_path% nevertheless does not change my primary issue around the Mac version apparently not supporting a secondary sort.
To be clear, in the Windows version I have, simple clicking on column names ALWAY changes the primary sort column, it NEVER retains the original column as the PRIMARY sort column and the newly-clicked column as a SECONDARY sort column (do you understand what I mean by "primary" and "secondary" sort column? Like SQL "ORDER BY path, filename"?)
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2021, 6:42am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/macos-how-to-select-secondary-sort-column/54662/8 "2021-10-09T06:42:25Z")
> [@stant](#):
>
> Like SQL "ORDER BY path, filename"
If you want to get that kind of sorting in MP3tag (Windows) then you click on the filename column first and then on the "path" column -without shift, ctrl, alt, just a simple click.
The first sorting sorts all the filenames and then the second click on "path" arranges the already sorted list so that the first found filename from the sorted filename list matching the first path is shown first, then the second and so on until the next path is due.
Pressing any modifier may be possible but does not make a difference. It is the sequnece of clicking on the column headers that produces the sorting order.
Could you, please, try that on the Mac version (and perhaps on the Windows version as well).
If you have repeatedly used sorting criteria, then you can add those in the column definition at "Sort by", in your example this would be %\_folderpath%%\_filename% (no space required) in the Filename column or the path column, which ever you think is better suitable.
But still easier, as we found out in the discussion, is to use %\_path% as field as this already features the full unique filename.
---
### Author:  [@Florian](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Florian)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2021, 9:10am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/macos-how-to-select-secondary-sort-column/54662/9 "2021-10-09T09:10:26Z")
> [@stant](#):
>
> in the Windows version, SHIFT-clicking does a secondary sort
This is correct and the sort sequence is then remembered across different sessions. I've not implemented that with the Mac version and probably won't do so — it's one of those non-obvious features only a few people know about. Look, even @ohrenkino wasn't aware of that 😃
I'd also suggest the way @ohrenkino was proposing: either sort by _Filename_ first and then by _Path_ or create a dedicated "sorting column" via _Preferences → File List_ that has a formatstring at _Sort by_ which resembles the different criteria you want for sorting, e.g., `%_path%` or `%artist%%year%%album%$num(%track%,2)`
---
### Author:  [@stant](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/stant)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2021, 3:27pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/macos-how-to-select-secondary-sort-column/54662/10 "2021-10-09T15:27:10Z")
Thanks very much, Florian! And thanks to ohrenkino too, for making me aware that the columns COULD be customized. Yes, this is a decent workaround, but I would sincerely hope that you keep this feature request in your backlog, Florian - I am a long-time Windows user (and a monthly supporter of mp3tag) and use this feature all the time. Any many Mac programs DO have this feature as well.
Thanks again to both of you! 🙂