Table Column Sorting Guide

General Sorting Behavior

Sorting Icon:

• When enabled, a sorting icon will appear in the column headers of applicable tables.

How Sorting Works:

• Default State: Data is displayed in its original order with no sorting icon.
• First Click: An ascending sort (↑) is applied, ordering values from A-Z or smallest to largest.
• Second Click: A descending sort (↓) is applied, ordering values from Z-A or largest to smallest.
• Third Click: Sorting is reset, and the table returns to its default unsorted state.

Column-Specific Sorting:

• Sorting applies independently to each column. Clicking a new column resets sorting.

Sorting is Not Persisted:

• Sorting is not persisted. Any page component interactions, such as refreshing the page, switching tabs, or applying filters, will reset the table to its original query definition order.

Drill-Through Table Sorting 

Column sorting is also available in Drill-Through Tables, allowing users to organize data when investigating underlying details.

• Permissions Required: Users must have the CanDrillthroughMetric application access permission to  drill-through from a data point to a Drill-Through Table.
• Sorting Behavior: Functions the same as List Tables, with ascending (↑), descending (↓), and reset states.

Using Sorting with Other Table Features

Query Too Large to Display:

• Sorting is applied only to the currently displayed data when query results exceed the display limit. To sort the full dataset, refine the query or export the data for further analysis.

Table Totals:

• When sorting is applied to tables with subtotals or custom totals, these summary rows will also be sorted.

Hidden Columns:

• Hiding a column with active sorting will reset the table to its default order.
• To retain sorting preferences reapply sorting after adjusting column visibility.

Special Notes for Pivoted Tables

Impact on Data Structure:

• Enabling table sorting may change the structure of your data and could affect hierarchical relationships or grouped data.  

Expand/Collapse Functionality:

• Sorting is applied only to currently expanded rows. Additional rows expanded after sorting will not follow the previous sort order.  Reapply sorting after expanding new rows to maintain consistency. Consider the potential impact on data structure as noted above.

Data Type Considerations:

• Sorting in pivoted tables applies uniformly across all metrics, which may result in unexpected behavior when different data types (e.g., percentages and numeric values) are combined.  Consider switching to a non-pivoted table for better control over sorting.