How to set the sort order on a clustered bar chart

[clongwell]

Dear hive mind, I am a bit baffled by how to propperly sort my clustered bar chart so the axis is descending according to a specified series.  This chart shows a 5 year history various things, and the yellow series is the latest year. I have selected "Sort Descending", but it appears that it is doing that based on the series average rather than specifying which series (the one in yellow).  Is there a way to drive that?

Much thanks!

[v-ssriganesh]

Hi @clongwell,
I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions. If my response has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.
Thank you.

[v-ssriganesh]

Hi @clongwell,

Thank you for posting your query in the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum, and thanks to @danextian for sharing valuable insights.

Could you please confirm if your query has been resolved by the provided solution? If so, please mark it as the solution. This will help other community members solve similar problems faster.

Thank you.

[clongwell]

No... I am not trying to sort the legend, but rather sort the clusters on the axis by the series in yellow (on the right).  When I sort the axis descending it seems to use an average?  

[v-ssriganesh · Accepted solution]

Hi @clongwell,
Thank you for posting your query in the Microsoft Fabric Community.

I’ve reproduced your scenario using my sample data and confirmed that the clustered column chart can be sorted by a specific series in this case, the 2024 bars (pink in my visuals, corresponding to your yellow "January" series). Here’s how I achieved it:

• Unpivoted the data to create a single SalesTable with columns: Category, Year, Sales.
• Created a helper table (CategorySortTable) to calculate the 2024 totals for each category using DAX:

CategorySortTable =

SUMMARIZE(

  FILTER('SalesTable', 'SalesTable'[Year] = "2024"),

  'SalesTable'[Category],

  "SortValue", SUM('SalesTable'[Sales])

)

1. Sorted CategorySortTable[Category] by its SortValue column in descending order.
2. Established a one-to-many relationship: CategorySortTable[Category] (one) → SalesTable[Category] (many).
3. Built the clustered column chart with:
• X-Axis: CategorySortTable[Category]
• Legend: SalesTable[Year]
• Y-Axis: SalesTable[Sales]
• Sort Order: Descending by the axis field (which uses the 2024 values from SortValue).

The result matches your requirement: the clusters are sorted by the 2024 values in descending order, with the highest 2024 value on the right.

For your reference, here’s the output in the visual:

• Categories A→E along the X-axis, ordered by their 2024 sales (approximately 210, 180, 160, 130, 90).
• Within each category, bars for 2020–2024, with the 2024 bar in pink (equivalent to your yellow "January" series).

I’ve attached a .pbix file with all these steps and the final chart. Feel free to download it and explore the model.

If this information is helpful, please “Accept as solution” and give a "kudos" to assist other community members in resolving similar issues more efficiently.
Thank you.

[clongwell]

I'm following you, but wow that is complex for a newbie!  Appreciate the sample file.

[danextian]

Hi @clongwell 

You should be able to sort by legend alphabeticaly or by a custom column sort column.

[clongwell]

In this example, I want to sorth the groups descending by the "January" value