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Sorting

Sorting in Power BI allows you to organize your data in a meaningful order within visuals and reports. Sorting can be applied to different types of visuals like tables, matrices, and charts to enhance the clarity and analysis of data. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to sort data in Power BI, complete with examples.

Types of Sorting in Power BI

  1. Ascending and Descending Order
  2. Sorting by Column
  3. Sorting by Measure
  4. Custom Sorting (using calculated columns or sort by another column)

Example 

Let's use the following sample sales dataset:


Sorting a Bar Chart by Sales Amount

       Create a Bar Chart:

    • In the "Visualizations" pane, select the bar chart visual.
    • Drag "Product" to the "X axis" and "SalesAmount" to the "Y axis" field.

       Sort by Sales Amount:

  • Click on the ellipsis (three dots) in the top right corner of the bar chart visual.
  • Select "Sort by" and choose "SalesAmount".
  • Choose "Descending" or "Ascending" to sort the products by their total sales amount in descending or ascending order.

Sorting a Table by Date

        Create a Table

  • In the "Visualizations" pane, select the table visual.
  • Drag "Date", "Product", "SalesAmount", and "Region" to the table fields.

        Sort by Date:

  • Click on the column header "Date" in the table.
  • The table will sort by date in ascending order by default. Click again to toggle to descending order.


Sorting by a Custom Order (Using a Calculated Column)

Suppose you want to sort products in a specific order: Product B, Product A, Product C. You can achieve this by creating a calculated column for custom sorting.

     Create a Calculated Column for Sorting Order:

  • Go to the "Table" view.

  • Click "New column" and enter the following DAX formula:

  • SortOrder = SWITCH(
        [Product],
        "Product B", 1,
        "Product A", 2,
        "Product C", 3,
        9999
    )


Set the Sort Order for the Product Column:

  • Go to the "Table" view.
  • Select the "Date" column.
  • In the ribbon, click "Sort by Column" and choose "SortOrder"

Sort a Visual Using the Custom Order:

  • Create a table or bar chart visual.
  • Add the "Product" and "SalesAmount" fields.
  • The products will now be sorted based on  "Product" column.


Sorting a Matrix by a Measure

      Create a Matrix:

  • In the "Visualizations" pane, select the matrix visual.
  • Drag "Region" to the "Rows" field and "Product" to the "Columns" field.
  • Drag "SalesAmount" to the "Values" field.

      Sort by Sales Amount:

  • Click on the column header for "SalesAmount" in the matrix.
  • The matrix will sort the regions based on the total sales amount in ascending order by default. Click again to toggle to descending order.


Sorting in Power BI enhances data analysis by organizing your visuals in a meaningful order. Whether sorting by columns, measures, or custom orders, these steps provide a clear approach to sorting data within various Power BI visuals. If you need further assistance or a more specific example, feel free to ask!

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