—
 | This template is deprecated. Table sort keys should now be defined using the data-sort-value attribute, like so: | data-sort-value="Doe, John" | John Doe. Please see WP:SORT § Specifying a sort key for a cell for details. Suggested replacement would be {{sdash}}. |
Sometimes emdashes (—) do not work the way we would like them to in sortable tables. This template is designed to overcome that.
Consider the following example, which uses normal emdashes:
| Name | Number |
|---|---|
| AAA | 234 |
| BBB | 129 |
| CCC | 813 |
| DDD | 149 |
| EEE | — |
| FFF | — |
| GGG | — |
| HHH | 297 |
| — | 182 |
| III | 012 |
| JJJ | 733 |
| KKK | — |
| — | 541 |
| LLL | 666 |
| MMM | 128 |
| — | 227 |
| OOO | 782 |
| PPP | 730 |
The name column sorts correctly, but the number column behaves in a peculiar way. This can be a particularly problematic issue in large, complex, sortable tables. Repeating the same table, but replacing the emdashes with {{sort dash}}, produces the following:
| Name | Number |
|---|---|
| AAA | 234 |
| BBB | 129 |
| CCC | 813 |
| DDD | 149 |
| EEE | — |
| FFF | — |
| GGG | — |
| HHH | 297 |
| — | 182 |
| III | 012 |
| JJJ | 733 |
| KKK | — |
| — | 541 |
| LLL | 666 |
| MMM | 128 |
| — | 227 |
| OOO | 782 |
| PPP | 730 |