Question

I have a “sort by alphabet” icon in the application bar. If the list of items is currently listing:

1
a
b

Then should the icon show what the listing is currently sorted by (A-Z) or what it WILL be sorted by if you press the button (Z-A)?

The only example I can find on the phone is setting the volume to ring or vibrate (If it is set to ring, it shows a bell) but would like more examples / confirmation from people here.

Answer 1

If it’s clear how the list is currently sorted by looking at it then I’d recommend displaying what the list will be changed to by pressing the button.

If the list can be sorted in any ways other than just ascending or descending alphabetical order you will probably need a button for setting each of the sort orders.
If it’s not clear how the list is sorted by looking at it then this indicator should be separate.

Overall I’d question the value of having this sorting functionality. If you have a long list I’d use the LongListSelector from the Toolkit and then always have it sorted A-Z. This will simplify your UI (by not requiring a button to change the sort order) and will require less code.