Table layout Free & Pro

The table layout lists your documents in rows with one column per field — title, date, size, download link, and so on. It is FileDeck’s default layout and the best choice when visitors need to scan or compare many documents quickly, because every document’s details line up in columns and any column header can be clicked to sort.

When to use the table layout

Choose the table when the information about each document matters as much as the document itself: policy libraries, meeting minutes, financial reports, technical datasheets. Rows are compact, so a single screen can show far more documents than a card grid, and visitors can sort by whichever column answers their question — newest first, largest first, alphabetical.

Sortable column headers

Every column header in the table is clickable. Visitors click a header to sort by that column, and click again to reverse the direction. This works alongside the instant search box and the category and tag filter dropdowns — see instant search, sorting, and filters. FileDeck tables are also built to WCAG AA accessibility standards.

Category links and shareable views

Two more table behaviors help visitors get to — and share — the right slice of the library:

• With Clicking a category in the table filters by it turned on under Documents → Settings → Features, category names in rows become filters: one click narrows the library to that category.
• The Copy link button copies a shareable URL of the current view — search, filters, and sorting included — so a visitor can send someone straight to the same filtered list.

Recommended columns

A table works best with five to seven columns. A good general-purpose set:

[filedeck layout="table" columns="title,categories,date,size,type,link"]

Add excerpt if your documents have short summaries worth showing, or modified for libraries where the last-updated date matters more than the publish date. All 13 available column keys, with drag-to-reorder in the block editor, are covered in choose and reorder columns.

How the table behaves on mobile

On narrow screens the table scrolls horizontally rather than squashing or hiding columns, so no data is lost — visitors swipe sideways to see the remaining columns. If your audience is mostly on phones, keep the column count low so the most important fields (usually title and link) are visible without scrolling, or consider the grid layout, which stacks vertically instead.

Example shortcode

[filedeck layout="table" columns="title,excerpt,categories,date,size,link" sort_by="date" per_page="25"]

The same configuration is available visually in the FileDeck Library block, which previews the table live while you toggle and reorder columns.

FAQ

Is the table layout the default?

Yes. If you use [filedeck] with no layout attribute, or insert the block without changing the layout picker, you get the table.

Can visitors sort the table themselves?

Yes. Clicking any column header sorts by that column; clicking again reverses the order. The sort attribute only sets the initial order.

Why does my table scroll sideways on phones?

That is the intended responsive behavior: columns keep their width and the table scrolls horizontally so nothing is hidden. Reduce the number of columns if you want the whole table to fit without scrolling.