---
title: "Specify sort order of link targets"
slug: "specify-sort-order-of-link-targets"
abstract: "Change the sort order in the Target drop-down menu in the Insert link and the Insert External Link dialogs in a General Link field."
---
# Specify sort order of link targets

This topic shows how you can change the sort order in the **Target** drop-down menu in the **Insert link** and the **Insert External Link** dialogs in a **General Link** field.

> [!important]
> Before you change your Sitecore installation, back up the Core database and your solution.

## Change the sort order in the Insert Link dialog

To change the sort order of the list in the **Target** dropdown field in the **Link Details** form:

1. In the Sitecore Desktop, select the Core database.
2. In the Content Editor, navigate to the `/sitecore/client/Business Component Library/version 1/Templates/Common/Text` folder.
3. Add a field to store the sort order. The field has to be of the Single-Line Text type. Name the field, for example, **SortOrder**.
4. Navigate to the `/sitecore/client/Applications/Dialogs/InsertLinkViaTreeDialog/PageSettings/Targets` folder.
5. Set the value in the sort order you added in each target. Use the values 1, 2, and 3 to indicate the order.
6. Navigate to the `/sitecore/client/Applications/Dialogs/InsertLinkViaTreeDialog/PageSettings/TargetsSearchPanelConfig` item.
7. Set the value of the **Sorting** field to `a`, followed by the name of your sort order field, for example `aSortOrder`.
8. Rebuild `sitecore_core_index`.

## Change the sort order in the Insert External Link dialog

To change the sort order of the list in the **Target** dropdown field in the **Link Details** form:

1. In the file system of the server where you host Sitecore, navigate to the `sitecore\shell\Applications\Dialogs\ExternalLink` folder under the web root of the Sitecore installation.
2. Open the `ExternalLink.xml` file, and locate this fragment:

    ```xml
    <Combobox ID="Target" GridPanel.Width="100%" Width="100%" Change="OnListboxChanged">
        <ListItem Value="Self" Header="Active browser"/>
        <ListItem Value="Custom" Header="Custom"/>
        <ListItem Value="New" Header="New browser"/>
    </Combobox>
    ```

3. Arrange the `ListItem` nodes in the order you want.