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

The Power BI Data Visualization World Championships is back! Get ahead of the game and start preparing now! Learn more

Reply
Anonymous
Not applicable

Sort by another column error

I am trying to sort by another column, and I'm getting the popular error, we can't sort the column X by Y. There can't be more than one value, yada, yada, yada. 

 

I created a numeric sort column using a switch function based on the values in another column. I went into the table view, filtered the table by each sort value, and confirmed there is one sort value for one value I'm trying to sort. No luck. I even copied the original field (the same exact values) to a new field, tried sorting, and got the same error. How is that even possible? 

 

Is there some known bug? Any help is appreciated.

 

Thank you,

Ed

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi Ryan,

 

Unfortunately, I can't share this data. However, I built the logic for the table, including the sort field, in SQL rather than PowerBI (DAX), and it's working as expected. Thanks for your responses. 

View solution in original post

6 REPLIES 6
ryan_mayu
Super User
Super User

could you pls provide some sample data?

if you want to sort the column X by Y, then there must be one to one relationship between these two columns.

11.PNG

 

if there is a one to many relationship between columns , then you can't do that

12.PNG





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

Proud to be a Super User!




Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi Ryan,

 

Thank you for the response. There is a one-to-one relationship with the fields. Attached is a screenshot of the two fields added to a table. As you can see, there isn't a one-to-may relationship between the fields. 

Sort Screenshot.JPG

could you pls provide the pbix file?





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

Proud to be a Super User!




Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi Ryan,

 

Unfortunately, I can't share this data. However, I built the logic for the table, including the sort field, in SQL rather than PowerBI (DAX), and it's working as expected. Thanks for your responses. 

I was getting the same error. And like you, my values had one to one relationship. I saw a mention elsewhere about using a conditional column. So I did that and it worked. In Power Query I added a conditional column, using your Type values and assigning the Sort value. 

a27279_0-1717635330395.png

 

Anonymous
Not applicable

Thank you - I tried this as well and it didn't work. 

Helpful resources

Announcements
Power BI DataViz World Championships

Power BI Dataviz World Championships

The Power BI Data Visualization World Championships is back! Get ahead of the game and start preparing now!

December 2025 Power BI Update Carousel

Power BI Monthly Update - December 2025

Check out the December 2025 Power BI Holiday Recap!

FabCon Atlanta 2026 carousel

FabCon Atlanta 2026

Join us at FabCon Atlanta, March 16-20, for the ultimate Fabric, Power BI, AI and SQL community-led event. Save $200 with code FABCOMM.