Selecting Fields and Sorting with $select and $orderby

Intermediate

Control which fields are returned and how results are sorted using OData system query options.

What you'll learn

Using $select to return specific fields only
Sorting with $orderby in ascending and descending order
Combining $select, $orderby, and $filter
Performance benefits of $select in large tables

$select limits the fields returned in each record (reducing payload size), and $orderby controls the sort order. Together they give you precise control over the shape and order of your OData response -- important for BI tools and reporting integrations where performance and structure matter.

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$select: return specific fields

By default, OData returns all fields in every record. $select limits the response to named fields:

HTTP

// Return only ID, FirstName, LastName, Email
GET /fmi/odata/v4/MyDB/Contacts?$select=id,FirstName,LastName,Email

// Response records contain only the selected fields:
{ "id": "1", "FirstName": "Alice", "LastName": "Smith", "Email": "alice@example.com" }

Filtering OData Results with $filter Creating and Updating Records via OData