---
title: "The reorder screen"
date: 2026-10-22
author: "Matt Cromwell"
featured_image: "https://rootsandfruit.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/rf-featured-reorder-all-the-things-2400x1260-1.png"
---

# The reorder screen

Each enabled post type gets a screen that lists its published items and saves a drag as soon as you drop it. Posts live at **Posts → Reorder**. Every other type lives at **Reorder** under that type’s menu, or on the shortcut in settings when the type has no menu.

## What the screen shows

- Published items only
- Menu order ascending, then title
- A dotted handle for dragging. The title is text, so you can select it
- For hierarchical types, an arrow to expand and collapse children. Children follow the parent, up to 100
- Dragging sideways changes the parent. Dragging up and down changes the order
- No Save button

There is no search field. Use the browser’s find on the current page, or raise Items per Page. See [Reorder a long list](https://rootsandfruit.com/docs/reorder-posts/reorder-a-long-list/).

## Paging

**Screen Options → Items per Page** defaults to 50 and is stored per user (`reorder_items_per_page`). From the second page on, the list steps forward by that number minus 2, so two posts repeat at the boundary. Use those repeated rows to drag an item onto the next page. A count of 1,000 or more published items shows a warning and does not block the screen.

## While a drag is saving

The plugin writes the dropped item, then renumbers its siblings in batches of 50. A loading image shows during that request. Wait for it before you page away, or the next page can still be on the old numbers.

If `REORDER_DEBUG` is defined and true, each title also prints its menu order number. That is a development aid, not a setting.

Companion plugins can add tabs to this screen. With one tab, which is the normal case, you just see the list.