Sorting template columns in Kendo UI Grid

Question

I'm having a hard time finding out how I can sort columns in a grid thar are set up with the Template property, like below:

    @(Html.Kendo().Grid(Model.UnitDetails)
      .Name("unitGrid")
      .DataSource(ds => ds
          .Ajax()
                  .Read(read => read.Action("Units_Read", "Fleet"))
          .AutoSync(true)
          .ServerOperation(true)
      )
      .Columns(columns =>
      {
          columns.Bound(p => p.ViewUnitContract.CurrentRun.Operation.WellContract.Location).Title("Well Site").Sortable(true);
          columns.Bound(p => p.ViewUnitContract.Name).Title("Unit Name").Width(200);
          columns.Template(p => { }).ClientTemplate(" ").Title("Well");
          columns.Template(p => { }).ClientTemplate(" ").Title("Run").Width(75);
          columns.Template(p => { }).ClientTemplate(" ").Title("Task").Width(365);
          columns.Template(p => { }).ClientTemplate(" ").Title("Activity").Width(200); ;
          columns.Template(p => { }).ClientTemplate(" ").Title("Depth (m)").Width(115);
          columns.Template(p => { }).ClientTemplate(" ").Title("Speed (m/min)").Width(90);
          columns.Template(p => { }).ClientTemplate(" ").Title("Weight (kg)").Width(90);
      })
      .ClientRowTemplate(Html.Partial("_ClientRowTemplate", Model).ToHtmlString())
      .Sortable())

Sorting the two first columns works just fine, but is it possible to sort the ones bound with ClientTemplates?

Answer 1

To sort a column, it must be a Bound column. You could still set the ClientTemplate on the Bound column, but the Template alone will not be sortable.

One workaround is to update your view model to have whatever "calculated" value (using that term loosely) calculated on the controller and then returned through to the view. In that case, you could use Bound columns.