# Angular Data Grid Row Reordering

> Let users drag rows into a new order with a per-row grip — the Angular Data Grid hands you the reordered array and never mutates your data.

Some lists have an order that only a person can decide: a task backlog, a
playlist, the steps of a workflow. `rowOrder` gives each row a grip, and the
grid tells you where the row was dropped — you own the data, so you own the
new order.

## Row reordering

`[rowOrder]="true"` adds a narrow handle column before the data columns. Only the
grip starts a drag: a row is full of interactive content — checkboxes, editors,
custom cells — that a whole-row handle would swallow.

```ts
import { Component, signal } from '@angular/core'
import { DataGridComponent } from '@coreui/angular-data-grid'
import type { DataGridColumn, DataGridItem, DataGridRowOrderChangeEvent } from '@coreui/angular-data-grid'

@Component({
  selector: 'docs-data-grid-row-order-example',
  imports: [DataGridComponent],
  template: `
    <c-data-grid
      [columns]="columns"
      [items]="items()"
      [itemKey]="itemKey"
      [rowOrder]="true"
      [sorting]="false"
      [virtualization]="false"
      (rowOrderChange)="onRowOrderChange($event)"
    />
  `
})
export class DataGridRowOrderExample {
  readonly columns: DataGridColumn[] = [
    { key: 'task', label: 'Task' },
    { key: 'owner', label: 'Owner' },
    { key: 'status', label: 'Status' }
  ]
readonly items = signal<DataGridItem[]>([
    {
 id: 1, task: 'Draft the release notes', owner: 'Alice', status: 'In progress'
},
    {
 id: 2, task: 'Review the API surface', owner: 'Bob', status: 'Blocked'
},
    {
 id: 3, task: 'Ship the beta', owner: 'Carol', status: 'Todo'
},
    {
 id: 4, task: 'Update the changelog', owner: 'Dave', status: 'Todo'
}
  ])
readonly itemKey = (item: DataGridItem) => String(item.id)

  onRowOrderChange(event: DataGridRowOrderChangeEvent) {
    this.items.set(event.items)
  }
}
```

## The contract

The grid **never mutates `items`**. Dropping a row fires ``(rowOrderChange)`` with
everything needed to apply the move — the same contract
[inline editing](https://coreui.io/data-grid/angular/docs/features/editing/) uses:

| Payload | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `items` | The full array in its new order, ready to assign or send to your API. |
| `item` | The row that moved. |
| `oldIndex` | Its index in `items` before the move. |
| `newIndex` | Its index after it. |

Until you apply it, nothing changes on screen. That is deliberate: the order is
usually persisted, and a row that snaps back when the request fails is better
than one that lies.

The indexes are positions in `items`, not in the rendered window — in
[pagination](https://coreui.io/data-grid/angular/docs/features/pagination/) mode the page offset is already added, so
dragging the first row of page 2 reports `oldIndex: 10`, not `0`.

## The drag interaction

Row dragging is the same pointer-based controller as
[column dragging](https://coreui.io/data-grid/angular/docs/columns/ordering-visibility/#the-drag-interaction), turned
on its side: a ghost with the row's first cell, a live preview where the rows
it passes slide aside and it slides into the gap, edge auto-scroll for long
lists, and Escape to cancel. It works the same with a mouse, a pen and a
finger, and honours `prefers-reduced-motion`.

## Options

| Option | Type | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `rowOrder` | `boolean` | `false` | Adds a drag handle per row for reordering. |
| `rowHandleIcon` | `TemplateRef` | grip | Custom handle icon replacing the default one. |

The handle's accessible name comes from `labels.reorderRow` — see
[localization](https://coreui.io/data-grid/angular/docs/customization/localization/).