diff --git a/libraries/build_html_for_db.lib.php b/libraries/build_html_for_db.lib.php
index 1e05591a02..b0d0176685 100644
--- a/libraries/build_html_for_db.lib.php
+++ b/libraries/build_html_for_db.lib.php
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ if (! defined('PHPMYADMIN')) {
  */
 function PMA_getColumnOrder()
 {
+    $column_order = array();
     $column_order['DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME'] = array(
         'disp_name' => __('Collation'),
         'description_function' => 'PMA_getCollationDescr',