Best way to make WPF ListView/GridView sort on column-header clicking?

MSDN has an easy way to perform sorting on columns with up/down glyphs. The example isn't complete, though - they don't explain how to use the data templates for the glyphs. Below is what I got to work with my ListView. This works on .Net 4.

In your ListView, you have to specify an event handler to fire for a click on the GridViewColumnHeader. My ListView looks like this:

<ListView Name="results" GridViewColumnHeader.Click="results_Click">
    <ListView.View>
        <GridView>
            <GridViewColumn DisplayMemberBinding="{Binding Path=ContactName}">
                <GridViewColumn.Header>
                    <GridViewColumnHeader Content="Contact Name" Padding="5,0,0,0" HorizontalContentAlignment="Left" MinWidth="150" Name="ContactName" />
                </GridViewColumn.Header>
            </GridViewColumn>
            <GridViewColumn DisplayMemberBinding="{Binding Path=PrimaryPhone}">
                <GridViewColumn.Header>
                    <GridViewColumnHeader Content="Contact Number" Padding="5,0,0,0" HorizontalContentAlignment="Left" MinWidth="150" Name="PrimaryPhone"/>
                </GridViewColumn.Header>
            </GridViewColumn>
        </GridView>
    </ListView.View>
</ListView>

In your code behind, set up the code to handle the sorting:

// Global objects
BindingListCollectionView blcv;
GridViewColumnHeader _lastHeaderClicked = null;
ListSortDirection _lastDirection = ListSortDirection.Ascending;

// Header click event
void results_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    GridViewColumnHeader headerClicked =
    e.OriginalSource as GridViewColumnHeader;
    ListSortDirection direction;

    if (headerClicked != null)
    {
    if (headerClicked.Role != GridViewColumnHeaderRole.Padding)
    {
        if (headerClicked != _lastHeaderClicked)
        {
            direction = ListSortDirection.Ascending;
        }
        else
        {
            if (_lastDirection == ListSortDirection.Ascending)
            {
                direction = ListSortDirection.Descending;
            }
            else
            {
                direction = ListSortDirection.Ascending;
            }
        }

        string header = headerClicked.Column.Header as string;
        Sort(header, direction);

        if (direction == ListSortDirection.Ascending)
        {
            headerClicked.Column.HeaderTemplate =
              Resources["HeaderTemplateArrowUp"] as DataTemplate;
        }
        else
        {
            headerClicked.Column.HeaderTemplate =
              Resources["HeaderTemplateArrowDown"] as DataTemplate;
        }

        // Remove arrow from previously sorted header
        if (_lastHeaderClicked != null && _lastHeaderClicked != headerClicked)
        {
            _lastHeaderClicked.Column.HeaderTemplate = null;
        }

        _lastHeaderClicked = headerClicked;
        _lastDirection = direction;
    }
}

// Sort code
private void Sort(string sortBy, ListSortDirection direction)
{
    blcv.SortDescriptions.Clear();
    SortDescription sd = new SortDescription(sortBy, direction);
    blcv.SortDescriptions.Add(sd);
    blcv.Refresh();
}

And then in your XAML, you need to add two DataTemplates that you specified in the sorting method:

<DataTemplate x:Key="HeaderTemplateArrowUp">
    <DockPanel LastChildFill="True" Width="{Binding ActualWidth, RelativeSource={RelativeSource FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type GridViewColumnHeader}}}">
        <Path x:Name="arrowUp" StrokeThickness="1" Fill="Gray" Data="M 5,10 L 15,10 L 10,5 L 5,10" DockPanel.Dock="Right" Width="20" HorizontalAlignment="Right" Margin="5,0,5,0" SnapsToDevicePixels="True"/>
        <TextBlock Text="{Binding }" />
    </DockPanel>
</DataTemplate>

<DataTemplate x:Key="HeaderTemplateArrowDown">
    <DockPanel LastChildFill="True" Width="{Binding ActualWidth, RelativeSource={RelativeSource FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type GridViewColumnHeader}}}">
        <Path x:Name="arrowDown" StrokeThickness="1" Fill="Gray"  Data="M 5,5 L 10,10 L 15,5 L 5,5" DockPanel.Dock="Right" Width="20" HorizontalAlignment="Right" Margin="5,0,5,0" SnapsToDevicePixels="True"/>
        <TextBlock Text="{Binding }" />
    </DockPanel>
</DataTemplate>

Using the DockPanel with LastChildFill set to true will keep the glyph on the right of the header and let the label fill the rest of the space. I bound the DockPanel width to the ActualWidth of the GridViewColumnHeader because my columns have no width, which lets them autofit to the content. I did set MinWidths on the columns, though, so that the glyph doesn't cover up the column title. The TextBlock Text is set to an empty binding which displays the column name specified in the header.

I wrote a set of attached properties to automatically sort a GridView, you can check it out here. It doesn't handle the up/down arrow, but it could easily be added.

<ListView ItemsSource="{Binding Persons}"
          IsSynchronizedWithCurrentItem="True"
          util:GridViewSort.AutoSort="True">
    <ListView.View>
        <GridView>
            <GridView.Columns>
                <GridViewColumn Header="Name"
                                DisplayMemberBinding="{Binding Name}"
                                util:GridViewSort.PropertyName="Name"/>
                <GridViewColumn Header="First name"
                                DisplayMemberBinding="{Binding FirstName}"
                                util:GridViewSort.PropertyName="FirstName"/>
                <GridViewColumn Header="Date of birth"
                                DisplayMemberBinding="{Binding DateOfBirth}"
                                util:GridViewSort.PropertyName="DateOfBirth"/>
            </GridView.Columns>
        </GridView>
    </ListView.View>
</ListView>

I use MVVM, so I created some attached properties of my own, using Thomas's as a reference. It does sorting on one column at a time when you click on the header, toggling between Ascending and Descending. It sorts from the very beginning using the first column. And it shows Win7/8 style glyphs.

Normally, all you have to do is set the main property to true (but you have to explicitly declare the GridViewColumnHeaders):

<Window xmlns:local="clr-namespace:MyProjectNamespace">
  <Grid>
    <ListView local:App.EnableGridViewSort="True" ItemsSource="{Binding LVItems}">
      <ListView.View>
        <GridView>
          <GridViewColumn DisplayMemberBinding="{Binding Property1}">
            <GridViewColumnHeader Content="Prop 1" />
          </GridViewColumn>
          <GridViewColumn DisplayMemberBinding="{Binding Property2}">
            <GridViewColumnHeader Content="Prop 2" />
          </GridViewColumn>
        </GridView>
      </ListView.View>
    </ListView>
  </Grid>
<Window>

If you want to sort on a different property than the display, than you have to declare that:

<GridViewColumn DisplayMemberBinding="{Binding Property3}"
                local:App.GridViewSortPropertyName="Property4">
    <GridViewColumnHeader Content="Prop 3" />
</GridViewColumn>

Here's the code for the attached properties, I like to be lazy and put them in the provided App.xaml.cs:

using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Data.
using System.Windows.Media;
using System.Windows.Media.Media3D;

namespace MyProjectNamespace
{
  public partial class App : Application
  {
      #region GridViewSort
      public static DependencyProperty GridViewSortPropertyNameProperty =
          DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached(
              "GridViewSortPropertyName", 
              typeof(string), 
              typeof(App), 
              new UIPropertyMetadata(null)
          );

      public static string GetGridViewSortPropertyName(GridViewColumn gvc)
      {
          return (string)gvc.GetValue(GridViewSortPropertyNameProperty);
      }

      public static void SetGridViewSortPropertyName(GridViewColumn gvc, string n)
      {
          gvc.SetValue(GridViewSortPropertyNameProperty, n);
      }

      public static DependencyProperty CurrentSortColumnProperty =
          DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached(
              "CurrentSortColumn", 
              typeof(GridViewColumn), 
              typeof(App), 
              new UIPropertyMetadata(
                  null, 
                  new PropertyChangedCallback(CurrentSortColumnChanged)
              )
          );

      public static GridViewColumn GetCurrentSortColumn(GridView gv)
      {
          return (GridViewColumn)gv.GetValue(CurrentSortColumnProperty);
      }

      public static void SetCurrentSortColumn(GridView gv, GridViewColumn value)
      {
          gv.SetValue(CurrentSortColumnProperty, value);
      }

      public static void CurrentSortColumnChanged(
          object sender, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
      {
          GridViewColumn gvcOld = e.OldValue as GridViewColumn;
          if (gvcOld != null)
          {
              CurrentSortColumnSetGlyph(gvcOld, null);
          }
      }

      public static void CurrentSortColumnSetGlyph(GridViewColumn gvc, ListView lv)
      {
          ListSortDirection lsd;
          Brush brush;
          if (lv == null)
          {
              lsd = ListSortDirection.Ascending;
              brush = Brushes.Transparent;
          }
          else
          {
              SortDescriptionCollection sdc = lv.Items.SortDescriptions;
              if (sdc == null || sdc.Count < 1) return;
              lsd = sdc[0].Direction;
              brush = Brushes.Gray;
          }

          FrameworkElementFactory fefGlyph = 
              new FrameworkElementFactory(typeof(Path));
          fefGlyph.Name = "arrow";
          fefGlyph.SetValue(Path.StrokeThicknessProperty, 1.0);
          fefGlyph.SetValue(Path.FillProperty, brush);
          fefGlyph.SetValue(StackPanel.HorizontalAlignmentProperty, 
              HorizontalAlignment.Center);

          int s = 4;
          if (lsd == ListSortDirection.Ascending)
          {
              PathFigure pf = new PathFigure();
              pf.IsClosed = true;
              pf.StartPoint = new Point(0, s);
              pf.Segments.Add(new LineSegment(new Point(s * 2, s), false));
              pf.Segments.Add(new LineSegment(new Point(s, 0), false));

              PathGeometry pg = new PathGeometry();
              pg.Figures.Add(pf);

              fefGlyph.SetValue(Path.DataProperty, pg);
          }
          else
          {
              PathFigure pf = new PathFigure();
              pf.IsClosed = true;
              pf.StartPoint = new Point(0, 0);
              pf.Segments.Add(new LineSegment(new Point(s, s), false));
              pf.Segments.Add(new LineSegment(new Point(s * 2, 0), false));

              PathGeometry pg = new PathGeometry();
              pg.Figures.Add(pf);

              fefGlyph.SetValue(Path.DataProperty, pg);
          }

          FrameworkElementFactory fefTextBlock = 
              new FrameworkElementFactory(typeof(TextBlock));
          fefTextBlock.SetValue(TextBlock.HorizontalAlignmentProperty,
              HorizontalAlignment.Center);
          fefTextBlock.SetValue(TextBlock.TextProperty, new Binding());

          FrameworkElementFactory fefDockPanel = 
              new FrameworkElementFactory(typeof(StackPanel));
          fefDockPanel.SetValue(StackPanel.OrientationProperty,
              Orientation.Vertical);
          fefDockPanel.AppendChild(fefGlyph);
          fefDockPanel.AppendChild(fefTextBlock);

          DataTemplate dt = new DataTemplate(typeof(GridViewColumn));
          dt.VisualTree = fefDockPanel;

          gvc.HeaderTemplate = dt;
      }

      public static DependencyProperty EnableGridViewSortProperty =
          DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached(
              "EnableGridViewSort", 
              typeof(bool), 
              typeof(App), 
              new UIPropertyMetadata(
                  false, 
                  new PropertyChangedCallback(EnableGridViewSortChanged)
              )
          );

      public static bool GetEnableGridViewSort(ListView lv)
      {
          return (bool)lv.GetValue(EnableGridViewSortProperty);
      }

      public static void SetEnableGridViewSort(ListView lv, bool value)
      {
          lv.SetValue(EnableGridViewSortProperty, value);
      }

      public static void EnableGridViewSortChanged(
          object sender, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
      {
          ListView lv = sender as ListView;
          if (lv == null) return;

          if (!(e.NewValue is bool)) return;
          bool enableGridViewSort = (bool)e.NewValue;

          if (enableGridViewSort)
          {
              lv.AddHandler(
                  GridViewColumnHeader.ClickEvent,
                  new RoutedEventHandler(EnableGridViewSortGVHClicked)
              );
              if (lv.View == null)
              {
                  lv.Loaded += new RoutedEventHandler(EnableGridViewSortLVLoaded);
              }
              else
              {
                  EnableGridViewSortLVInitialize(lv);
              }
          }
          else
          {
              lv.RemoveHandler(
                  GridViewColumnHeader.ClickEvent,
                  new RoutedEventHandler(EnableGridViewSortGVHClicked)
              );
          }
      }

      public static void EnableGridViewSortLVLoaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
      {
          ListView lv = e.Source as ListView;
          EnableGridViewSortLVInitialize(lv);
          lv.Loaded -= new RoutedEventHandler(EnableGridViewSortLVLoaded);
      }

      public static void EnableGridViewSortLVInitialize(ListView lv)
      {
          GridView gv = lv.View as GridView;
          if (gv == null) return;

          bool first = true;
          foreach (GridViewColumn gvc in gv.Columns)
          {
              if (first)
              {
                  EnableGridViewSortApplySort(lv, gv, gvc);
                  first = false;
              }
              else
              {
                  CurrentSortColumnSetGlyph(gvc, null);
              }
          }
      }

      public static void EnableGridViewSortGVHClicked(
          object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
      {
          GridViewColumnHeader gvch = e.OriginalSource as GridViewColumnHeader;
          if (gvch == null) return;
          GridViewColumn gvc = gvch.Column;
          if(gvc == null) return;            
          ListView lv = VisualUpwardSearch<ListView>(gvch);
          if (lv == null) return;
          GridView gv = lv.View as GridView;
          if (gv == null) return;

          EnableGridViewSortApplySort(lv, gv, gvc);
      }

      public static void EnableGridViewSortApplySort(
          ListView lv, GridView gv, GridViewColumn gvc)
      {
          bool isEnabled = GetEnableGridViewSort(lv);
          if (!isEnabled) return;

          string propertyName = GetGridViewSortPropertyName(gvc);
          if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(propertyName))
          {
              Binding b = gvc.DisplayMemberBinding as Binding;
              if (b != null && b.Path != null)
              {
                  propertyName = b.Path.Path;
              }

              if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(propertyName)) return;
          }

          ApplySort(lv.Items, propertyName);
          SetCurrentSortColumn(gv, gvc);
          CurrentSortColumnSetGlyph(gvc, lv);
      }

      public static void ApplySort(ICollectionView view, string propertyName)
      {
          if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(propertyName)) return;

          ListSortDirection lsd = ListSortDirection.Ascending;
          if (view.SortDescriptions.Count > 0)
          {
              SortDescription sd = view.SortDescriptions[0];
              if (sd.PropertyName.Equals(propertyName))
              {
                  if (sd.Direction == ListSortDirection.Ascending)
                  {
                      lsd = ListSortDirection.Descending;
                  }
                  else
                  {
                      lsd = ListSortDirection.Ascending;
                  }
              }
              view.SortDescriptions.Clear();
          }

          view.SortDescriptions.Add(new SortDescription(propertyName, lsd));
      }
      #endregion

      public static T VisualUpwardSearch<T>(DependencyObject source) 
          where T : DependencyObject
      {
          return VisualUpwardSearch(source, x => x is T) as T;
      }

      public static DependencyObject VisualUpwardSearch(
                          DependencyObject source, Predicate<DependencyObject> match)
      {
          DependencyObject returnVal = source;

          while (returnVal != null && !match(returnVal))
          {
              DependencyObject tempReturnVal = null;
              if (returnVal is Visual || returnVal is Visual3D)
              {
                  tempReturnVal = VisualTreeHelper.GetParent(returnVal);
              }
              if (tempReturnVal == null)
              {
                  returnVal = LogicalTreeHelper.GetParent(returnVal);
              }
              else
              {
                  returnVal = tempReturnVal;
              }
          }

          return returnVal;
      }
  }
}

It all depends really, if you're using the DataGrid from the WPF Toolkit then there is a built in sort, even a multi-column sort which is very useful. Check more out here:

Vincent Sibals Blog

Alternatively, if you're using a different control that doesn't support sorting, i'd recommend the following methods:

Li Gao's Custom Sorting

Followed by:

Li Gao's Faster Sorting