Another representation is an extension of the fiddle of column hiding - http://jsfiddle.net/0Lsjcxhr/

Several columns here can be found hidden by default, when i try unhiding them it does not work. In my case i am trying to do something similar by programatically showing several hidden columns. When i do the aforementioned, i can see the data associated to the column which i show but under the wrong column header! And when i show several columns part of the headers dissapear as illustrated in the screenshot i shared. 

The sorting implementation on the backend isnt the issue, the grid just doesnt issue a sorting call to the server when i click on a column. I simply added the following configuration to the grid features to enable sorting - 

{

name: 'Sorting',
type: 'remote'

}

FYI- the backend already supports odata sorting on the dataset. Maybe i am missing something in the configuration here? 

So the sorting fires now by adding column settings but now i am back to my original concern about sorting keys for columns, as i am using the formula to map data to columns the sorting key sent to the server for each individual column is incorrect. For example, the 'Number' in my case has key 'Number' but it maps data through the formula function which returns data.Attributes.Number. Is there a way for me to specify separate sorting keys for each column? In the number case the key should be 'Attributes/Number' but the grid does not permit the use of a '/' as a key! 

"The Sorting, Filtering, and Group By features do not work with unbound columns."

This isn't completely accurate, sorting works with unbound columns. The only limitation here is when you use special characters such as the '/' as a key. When i do this, the sorting works just fine however when i try to change the datasource of the grid on the fly, the grid breaks down. 

Hello,

I'm just following up to see if you need any further assistance with this issue. If so please let me know.

Encoding the slash would work for the sorting on the backend but unfortunately the grid seems to double encode the key when i send it back. For example when i use the key 'Attributes%2FServiceStatus' for 'Attributes/ServiceStatus' it sends 'orderby=Attributes%252FServiceStatus'. It encodes the percentage! Is there a way to disable this encoding for sorting params?