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

A new Data Days event is coming soon! This time we’re going bigger than ever. Fabric, Power BI, SQL, AI and more. Don't miss out.

Reply
JustinDoh1
Post Prodigy
Post Prodigy

Sort date using shortened month name

I have modified the month name to be displayed as three characters, then I realized that if I use that calculated column, it would not display by month order (Jan.. Dec), but by alphabetical order (Apr..Sep).

 

How do I go about fixing this?

I would like to display like " Jan 20  Feb 20  March 20 .... Aug 21  Sep 21 ". 

JustinDoh1_0-1631315233714.png

 

I read other discussion about "Go to the database tab, select month name column from your calendar table.  Select the modeling tab...

But, I could not follow the instruction...

Thanks for help!

 

 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
jdbuchanan71
Super User
Super User

@JustinDoh1 

You will want to add a date table to your model, they you have a column called something like Month Year in there that uses the date of the last day of the month (it's date so it sorts correctly) but you format it like mm-yyyy so it also displays correctly.  Here is an article talking about specifically the problem you are trying to solve.

https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/creating-a-simpler-and-chart-friendly-date-table-in-power-bi/

 

View solution in original post

4 REPLIES 4
jdbuchanan71
Super User
Super User

You would join the date table into your fact table, yes.

@jdbuchanan71 Thank you for your feedback/help.

jdbuchanan71
Super User
Super User

@JustinDoh1 

You will want to add a date table to your model, they you have a column called something like Month Year in there that uses the date of the last day of the month (it's date so it sorts correctly) but you format it like mm-yyyy so it also displays correctly.  Here is an article talking about specifically the problem you are trying to solve.

https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/creating-a-simpler-and-chart-friendly-date-table-in-power-bi/

 

@jdbuchanan71 Thanks for help. I think you are leading me to the right direction, but I am still trying to understand how to apply after I create that new measure.

I am having other issue now (after I copied this) - "The expression refers to multiple columns. Multiple columns cannot be converted to a scalar value".

JustinDoh1_1-1631554264638.png

Update: Now, I realized that I needed to create Table, instead of Measure.

Now, I am trying to incorporate this newly create Table with other tables.

Do I have to join this Table with the main table to make it work?

 

 

 

 

Helpful resources

Announcements
May Power BI Update Carousel

Power BI Monthly Update - May 2026

Check out the May 2026 Power BI update to learn about new features.

Fabric SQL PBI Data Days

Data Days 2026 coming soon!

Sign up to receive a private message when registration opens and key events begin.

New to Fabric survey Carousel

New to Fabric Survey

If you have recently started exploring Fabric, we'd love to hear how it's going. Your feedback can help with product improvements.

Power BI DataViz World Championships carousel

Power BI DataViz World Championships - June 2026

A new Power BI DataViz World Championship is coming this June! Don't miss out on submitting your entry.