Currently, Laserfiche automatically sorts the entries inside a folder in alphabetical order. Entries can be re-sorted using browser columns in the contents pane, but this sorting is both local to that user and also does not affect the sort order in the folder tree pane.

This poses a problem when we have a series of folders that we want sorted in a specific way. For example, let's say it's an invoice approval process with the following approval stages:

--Invoice Approval
----Site Manager
----Accounts Payable
----Controller
----CFO

Currently, to enforce this sort order we need to prepend numbers or letters to folder names, for example "1. Site Manager", "2. Accounts Payable", etc.

This is an issue because it tightly couples the repository structure with any Forms BPs and workflows that utilize that structure. For example, let's say our current folder structure is like this:

--Invoice Approval
----1. Site Manager
----2. Accounts Payable
----3. Controller
----4. CFO

Now we decide that the Accounts Payable step should come before the Site Manager step. We need to not just rename the folders, but then go into every single Forms storage service task and Workflow that stores/routes things to those folders and change those paths as well. If any modules point to those paths (e.g. Import Agent) we also need to change those. Then we also need to change any saved searches that look inside those folders, and then... you get the point.

This becomes a huge headache in larger systems and makes them a lot more time-consuming to modify. It also makes the repository look cluttered, as a lot of folders end up having their names begin with numbers or letters.

In an ideal scenario, we should be able to log in as an administrator, go to the Properties of the Invoice Approval folder and check a box that says "enforce sort order for subfolders". That should pop up a new dialog that lets us drag and drop the subfolders in the order we want them to appear to ALL users in the repository. If the subfolders are renamed, the sort list should not be affected. If subfolders are later deleted, they should be automatically removed from this sort list. If new subfolders are added, they should go to the bottom of the sort list, and an administrator should then be able to put them in the correct location.