Reference Lists

Copy order from a reference file

If you don't want to create a list from scratch, you can use ChanSort's "Apply order from a reference list" function to copy the order from another file and apply it to your current channel list. Any of the TV channel list formats supported by ChanSort can be used as a reference list. This includes the various manufacturer and model specific file formats, as well as neutral .txt and .csv text files.

Let's assume you just bought a new TV and you want to have the same numbers as on your old TV. To achieve that, run a channel search on your new TV, and export the list to a USB stick. Also export your old TV's list to a USB stick. Now open the new TV's file in ChanSort and when prompted, select the old TV's file as a reference list. ChanSort will try its best to find matching channels between the two files and create the same order.

You can also use any pre-ordered channel list of your liking that you find on the internet. It doesn't even have to be the same manufacturer as your TV. It will do just fine as a reference list.

Automatic vs. Advanced

Different TV models organize their channel lists differently. Some have TV and radio channels mixed in one list (sharing the same pool of numbers), others have two separate lists for them (and have a TV channel #1 and a radio channel #1). Same thing applies to analog vs. digital channels, which may also be mixed or separated.

If your TV file and the reference file are organized in the same way, ChanSort can automatically match the various sub-lists and apply the order. If the lists are not compatible, you can use the advanced tools to transfer the order.

For example, you want to copy the order from your LG LM620S to a Hisense H65M5500. The LG TV uses separate sub-lists for TV and radio, channels, the Hisense has them in a combined list. It's not possible to directly copy the "#1" from the LG list for both the TV and radio channel, as this would lead to a duplicate numbers in the Hisense list. To solve the problem, you use the advanced mode and first only apply the reference list for TV channels, then you set the "Begin at Pr#" to 1000 and apply the reference list for radio channels. You end up with a list where the TV channels start at #1 and the radio channels at #1000.

Where can I get a pre-ordered list?

I'm hoping that ChanSort users will upload and share their customized lists so I can link them here or add them to the next ChanSort update.
Reference lists included in ChanSort