Skip to main content
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Microsoft is giving away 50,000 FREE Microsoft Certification exam vouchers. Get Fabric certified for FREE! Learn more

Reply
domtrump
Helper II
Helper II

Sorting dates in pivot table

Sure this has been asked, but the "suggestions" I'm finding I either don't understand or do not apply to my particular situation. My data assigns all transactions that occur in a month to the last day of the month (i.e. 1.21.23, 1.25.23, 1.27.23 would all be "stamped" as 1.31.23). The business requirement is for alll the date headers both across and down in the pivot table be in the format "mmm yyyy" (Jan 2023). So I create my date dimension with all dates and the Month category in the appropriate format:

 

Date            FMT_Date

1/25/2022Jan 2022
1/26/2022Jan 2022
1/27/2022Jan 2022
1/28/2022Jan 2022
1/29/2022Jan 2022
1/30/2022Jan 2022
1/31/2022Jan 2022
2/1/2022Feb 2022
2/2/2022Feb 2022
2/3/2022Feb 2022
2/4/2022Feb 2022
2/5/2022Feb 2022
2/6/2022Feb 2022
2/7/2022Feb 2022
2/8/2022Feb 2022
2/9/2022Feb 2022
2/10/2022Feb 2022
 
1/24/2023Jan 2023
1/25/2023Jan 2023
1/26/2023Jan 2023
1/27/2023Jan 2023
1/28/2023Jan 2023
1/29/2023Jan 2023
1/30/2023Jan 2023
1/31/2023Jan 2023
2/1/2023Feb 2023
2/2/2023Feb 2023
2/3/2023Feb 2023

 

And of course the following apply:

  • I imagine if this was one of the "available" date formats in the PP grid, this whole thing would be a non issue - but it isn't. And unlike in regular Excel, you cannot put a custome format mask on the date
  • Of course when I place the FMT_Date as columns or rows on the pivot table, it is in alphabetical order AND all the Apr's are together for each year, Aug's , etc.
  • And I understand why my date dimension table cannot sort FMT_Date on Date 

domtrump_0-1682528107534.png

 

So what is the simplist (pronounced - with the least amount of programming) to achieve the desired result?

 

domtrump_1-1682528273432.png

 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Wilson_
Super User
Super User

Hello,

 

You can add another column to your date table in the format YYYYMM to sort your MMM YYYY table on (the below should work). That would solve the error message you're getting and allow you to sort.

FORMAT ( 'Dates'[Date], "YYYYMM" )

----------------------------------
If this post helps, please consider accepting it as the solution to help other members find it quickly. Also, don't forget to hit that thumbs up and subscribe! (Oh, uh, wrong platform?)




Did I answer your question? Mark my post as a solution!

Proud to be a Super User!





View solution in original post

1 REPLY 1
Wilson_
Super User
Super User

Hello,

 

You can add another column to your date table in the format YYYYMM to sort your MMM YYYY table on (the below should work). That would solve the error message you're getting and allow you to sort.

FORMAT ( 'Dates'[Date], "YYYYMM" )

----------------------------------
If this post helps, please consider accepting it as the solution to help other members find it quickly. Also, don't forget to hit that thumbs up and subscribe! (Oh, uh, wrong platform?)




Did I answer your question? Mark my post as a solution!

Proud to be a Super User!





Helpful resources

Announcements
PBIApril_Carousel

Power BI Monthly Update - April 2025

Check out the April 2025 Power BI update to learn about new features.

Notebook Gallery Carousel1

NEW! Community Notebooks Gallery

Explore and share Fabric Notebooks to boost Power BI insights in the new community notebooks gallery.

April2025 Carousel

Fabric Community Update - April 2025

Find out what's new and trending in the Fabric community.

Top Kudoed Authors