Organizing characters: Bringing clarity to the complex

Sorting

The first option to organize characters on the page is through sorting. Characters can be sorted alphabetically based on the value of any column, even columns that will not display. If the sorting column is determined to be a number, such as a ranking or a number grade, then sorting will be done numerically. Sorting on a column that contains a mixx of numbers and letters (such as a serial number) might not yield the results you want since numbers are sorted "wierdly" when treated as letters.

A common pattern to follow is to have a seperate column in the characters tab, perhaps named sort_name which includes the characters name but in {lastname}, {firstname} format. Readers will see the characters' names {firstname}, {lastname}, but will be ordered by last name.

Sorting is configured in the top spreadsheet tab. Left unconfigured, the order they appear in the characters spreadsheet tab will be the order they appear on the page. This is your best bet if you require any sort of manual/custom ordering.

Key	Purpose	Default	Required
character_sort_by	Set the column by which all characters will be sorted.	None. Default sort will be spreadsheet row order	No
character_sort_direction	Can be ascending (A to Z, 0 to 10) or descending (Z to A, 10 to 0)	ascending	No

Categories are exclusive

Characters on the page can be divided into groups, called categories. Each category is displayed one after another. If you have a cast of politicians, you might want categories for senators, members of congress, and White House operatives. A character can only be in one category. A politician can be a senator or a member of Congress, but not both.

Categories are not required. If you don't need to present the characters in discreet groups, then don't use categories.

Define categories in the categories tab of the spreadsheet. The id is used in characters tab to assign a character to a category. Optionally, a layout for each category can be selected.

Column	Purpose	Required
id	A unique name for the category, with only lowercase letters and no punctuation other than hyphens	Yes
name	How the category name will display on the page	Yes
description	A brief description of the category. A short sentence is best.	No
character_layout	Currently, only three layouts are supported: default, medium and wide.	No

Adding characters to categories

In the characters' category, select or type the category's id value. One category per character.

If you are using categories, be sure the spreadsheet tab name is categories and not anything else, such as _categories.

Labels are not exclusive

Sometimes other, less concrete, connections or groupings exists in a cast. These can be highlighted with labels.

In the previous example, the political characters might be Democrats, Republicans or belong to another party. They might be new to federal politics or veterans. They might have ties to Lobbyist A or Lobbyist B.

These distinctions are not exclusive. A character could be a Democrat and have ties to Lobbyist A. Or just be a Democrat.

Labels appear as boxed text underneath a character and do not affect placement on the page.

Labels also are optional. When using them, a series of checkboxes — one for each label — will appear on the page. These allow readers to toggle the visibility of characters, to only show the labels they wish to see. The labels themselves also are actionable. Tapping one will trigger a filter as if the checkbox were checked.

Column	Purpose	Required
id	The unique identifier for this label. Must be all lowercase and use no punctuation but hyphens.	Yes.
name	The human-readable label name. Should only be a couple words at most.	Yes
description	A secondary text to further explain the label's meaning. Should be no more a sentence.	No.

Assigning labels to characters

Every label needs to be defined in the labels spreadsheet tab with at least an id and a name, otherwise they will be omitted. In the labels column in the characters spreadsheet tab, add all the labels you need in a list, separated by commas. Continuing with our political example, if a character is a veteran Democrat with ties to lobbyist B, then you would put the label IDs into the labels column of that spreadsheet row: democrat, lobbyist-b, veteran.

The order of the labels in the list does not matter, but they must match the IDs exactly. Spaces between the labels/list items is optional.

If you are using labels, be sure the spreadsheet tab name is labels and not anything else, such as _labels.

Full-text searching

A free-text search bar can be added to look for individual names or other key words. This is configured in the columns spreadsheet tab. Check that documentation for more information.