[SalesForce] Redirect to list view URL on custom object tab click

Using the default presentation mechanisms, only the object's Name field is presented with a hyperlink (that makes use of the object's ID). So to get that link back you just need to put back the auto-number field (which I assume is the Name field). There is no ability to control the default sort of remove the sorting. The positive of using these default mechanisms is that your tab behaves like many other tabs which is usually helpful for users.

If more specific behaviour is important to you, you can write your own Visualforce list page based on the StandardSetController and override the object's tab action to use that page. Then you can hyperlink whichever field you like and lock down the sort order.

I don't entirely agree with implementing JS as the solution, but independent of that, you can use a Hierarchy Custom Setting (documentation) and merge in a value from it:

parent.frames.location.replace("{!$Setup.Order_Settings__c.Recently_Viewed__c}");

EDIT

You could also get the Id more programmatically by using ApexPages.StandardSetController. Take a look at the getListViewOptions method, it gives you back a List<SelectOption>. Each represents a List View with value=Id and label=Name.

Service

The below is a rudimentary and generic attempt to pair an sObjectType with a List View Name and come up with its Id and also a corresponding URL.

public with sharing class ListViewServices
{
    public static String getId(SObjectType sObjectType, String name)
    {
        List<SObject> records = new List<SObject> { sObjectType.newSObject(); }
        ApexPages.StandardSetController controller =
            new ApexPages.StandardSetController(records);
        for (SelectOption listView : controller.getListViewOptions())
        {
            if (listView.getLabel() == name) return listView.getValue();
        }
        return '';
    }
    public static String getUrl(String sObjectType, String name)
    {
        if (String.isBlank(sObjectType) || String.isBlank(name)) return null;

        SObjectType schemaType = Schema.getGlobalDescribe().get(sObjectType);
        this.relativeBaseUrl = String.format('/{0}?fcf={1}', new List<String> {
            schemaType.getDescribe().getKeyPrefix(),
            getId(schemaType, name)
        });
    }
}

Controller

Using the above service in a specific controller should be trivial.

public with sharing class ListViewController
{
    public static final String TYPE_PARAM = 'sobjecttype';
    public static final String NAME_PARAM = 'name';

    public String listViewUrl { get; private set; }
    public ListViewController()
    {
        this.listViewUrl = ListViewServices.getUrl(
            ApexPages.currentPage().getParameters().get(TYPE_PARAM),
            ApexPages.currentPage().getParameters().get(NAME_PARAM)
        );
    }
}

VisualForce

This would change your Javascript specifically to:

var listViewUrl = "{!URLENCODE(listViewUrl)}";
if (listViewUrl) parent.frames.location.replace(listViewUrl);