# GT.cols_reorder()
Reorder all columns in a specified order.
Usage
``` python
GT.cols_reorder(columns)
```
The [cols_reorder()](GT.cols_reorder.md#great_tables.GT.cols_reorder) method allows you to completely rearrange the column order of a table. Provide all column names in the exact order you want them to appear. This is useful when you need full control over the column layout and want to express the entire ordering in a single call, rather than using multiple [cols_move()](GT.cols_move.md#great_tables.GT.cols_move), [cols_move_to_start()](GT.cols_move_to_start.md#great_tables.GT.cols_move_to_start), or [cols_move_to_end()](GT.cols_move_to_end.md#great_tables.GT.cols_move_to_end) calls.
Every column in the table must appear exactly once in the `columns=` list. If any columns are missing or extra names are provided, a `ValueError` will be raised.
## Parameters
`columns: SelectExpr`
A list of all column names in the desired display order. This can be a list of column name strings or a column selection expression (e.g., Polars selectors). All columns in the table must be included exactly once.
## Returns
`GT`
The GT object is returned. This is the same object that the method is called on so that we can facilitate method chaining.
## Raises
`ValueError`
If the provided columns do not match all columns in the table (e.g., missing columns, extra columns, or duplicates).
## Examples
Let's use a subset of columns from the [exibble](data.exibble.md#great_tables.data.exibble) dataset to create a table.
``` python
from great_tables import GT
from great_tables.data import exibble
exibble_mini = exibble[["num", "char", "fctr", "date", "time"]]
GT(exibble_mini)
```
| num | char | fctr | date | time |
|-----------|------------|-------|------------|-------|
| 0.1111 | apricot | one | 2015-01-15 | 13:35 |
| 2.222 | banana | two | 2015-02-15 | 14:40 |
| 33.33 | coconut | three | 2015-03-15 | 15:45 |
| 444.4 | durian | four | 2015-04-15 | 16:50 |
| 5550.0 | None | five | 2015-05-15 | 17:55 |
| None | fig | six | 2015-06-15 | None |
| 777000.0 | grapefruit | seven | None | 19:10 |
| 8880000.0 | honeydew | eight | 2015-08-15 | 20:20 |
Now, let's reorder the columns so that `fctr` and `date` come first, followed by the remaining columns in a custom order:
``` python
(
GT(exibble_mini)
.cols_reorder(["fctr", "date", "time", "char", "num"])
)
```
| fctr | date | time | char | num |
|-------|------------|-------|------------|-----------|
| one | 2015-01-15 | 13:35 | apricot | 0.1111 |
| two | 2015-02-15 | 14:40 | banana | 2.222 |
| three | 2015-03-15 | 15:45 | coconut | 33.33 |
| four | 2015-04-15 | 16:50 | durian | 444.4 |
| five | 2015-05-15 | 17:55 | None | 5550.0 |
| six | 2015-06-15 | None | fig | None |
| seven | None | 19:10 | grapefruit | 777000.0 |
| eight | 2015-08-15 | 20:20 | honeydew | 8880000.0 |
For tables with many columns, you can use Python's iterable unpacking to build the column list programmatically. Here we use the full [exibble](data.exibble.md#great_tables.data.exibble) dataset (9 columns) and move `fctr` to the front while pushing `num` and `char` to the end--without typing every column name in between:
``` python
# Unpack the first three column names and capture all remaining ones in `rest`
# exibble.columns is: ["num", "char", "fctr", "date", "time", "datetime", "currency", "row", "group"]
num, char, fctr, *rest = exibble.columns
# Build the new order: fctr first, then all middle columns in their
# original order, and finally char and num moved to the end
(
GT(exibble)
.cols_reorder([fctr, *rest, char, num])
)
```
| fctr | date | time | datetime | currency | row | group | char | num |
|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|
| one | 2015-01-15 | 13:35 | 2018-01-01 02:22 | 49.95 | row_1 | grp_a | apricot | 0.1111 |
| two | 2015-02-15 | 14:40 | 2018-02-02 14:33 | 17.95 | row_2 | grp_a | banana | 2.222 |
| three | 2015-03-15 | 15:45 | 2018-03-03 03:44 | 1.39 | row_3 | grp_a | coconut | 33.33 |
| four | 2015-04-15 | 16:50 | 2018-04-04 15:55 | 65100.0 | row_4 | grp_a | durian | 444.4 |
| five | 2015-05-15 | 17:55 | 2018-05-05 04:00 | 1325.81 | row_5 | grp_b | None | 5550.0 |
| six | 2015-06-15 | None | 2018-06-06 16:11 | 13.255 | row_6 | grp_b | fig | None |
| seven | None | 19:10 | 2018-07-07 05:22 | None | row_7 | grp_b | grapefruit | 777000.0 |
| eight | 2015-08-15 | 20:20 | None | 0.44 | row_8 | grp_b | honeydew | 8880000.0 |
This unpacking technique is especially handy for wide tables where you want to pin a few columns to the start or end without manually listing every column in between. The `*rest` variable automatically adapts if columns are added to or removed from the dataset, making your table code more resilient to upstream schema changes.