Is there an upside down caret character?

Display sort order with Unicode characters

India's gone up! Hello, upside-down world! No, we're just sorting data in your project's UI😉. Ever tried Unicode values ▲ and ▼?

<!-- For the person who always reaches for the stars -->
&#9650;

<!-- For the person who keeps their head down and works hard -->
&#9660;


These are the goto champions for indicating ascending and descending sorting. Retrofit these into your ASP pages with JavaScript and voila! A more intuitive and user-friendly experience:

// Traffic lights are too mainstream; we use carets to control flow
document.getElementById("sortButton").innerHTML = isAscending ? "▲" : "▼";


For a more avant-garde feel, meet ∧ and ∨—the alternative sorting indicators:

<!-- And this... is to go even beyond! -->
&and;

<!-- (unleashes dramatic aura) -->
&or;


These provide a visually distinct flair as the sorting criteria. But beware! ˇ may appear out of place by not fitting into the caret family.

Extra combat gear: Understanding special cases

Styling inverted caret with CSS

HTML entities giving you a tough time? Time to don the CSS superhero cape:

/* CSS is my superpower. Up, up and away! */
.up-caret {
  border-left: 5px solid transparent;
  border-right: 5px solid transparent;
  border-bottom: 5px solid black;
}


With the .up-caret class, your div can now cosplay an upward pointing caret!

Spinning the world around with CSS

In the realm of CSS, what goes up can also come down:

/* Why turn the world upside down when you can just rotate the caret? */
.down-caret {
  display: inline-block;
  transform: rotate(180deg);
}
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That's right! Unleash your power to rotate caret icons using the transform property.

Shape-shifting with pseudo-elements

Let's morph ::before or ::after to generate carets that respond to sort state:

/* Ascending to the peak... */
.sorted-asc::after {
  content: '\25B2';
}

/* ...or digging to the center of the Earth. */
.sorted-desc::after {
  content: '\25BC';
}


Pulling the puppet strings with JavaScript

Command the dynamic update of the caret's direction using JavaScript:

/* Switching sorting dir faster than a toddler's mood. */
function toggleSortDirection(element) {
  element.classList.toggle('sorted-asc');
  element.classList.toggle('sorted-desc');
}


Custom carets with CSS shapes

Interested in unique, homemade carets? CSS-based shapes are the ticket! They emulate the caret's look and feel, ensuring consistent viewing across multiple platforms.

Paying heed to accessibility

Remember our friends on the visually-challenged spectrum. Contrast is their palpable tool for perceiving UI. Use WCAG contrast checkers or tools alike for the sharply dressed caret!

Treading carefully with internationalization

Relevance travels a long way but meaning might not. A symbol's undertones could vary across cultures. Do your local interpretations homework well when presenting international audiences.