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67nmark
Helper I
Helper I

custom sort order across multiple columns

Hello,

 

I am using Power BI to report on survey results data. I have 10 columns with the same answer options (Yes, No, Not sure, NA). I want to set a custom sort order on all columns that use these answer options.

 

I have created a reference table with an AnswerID and AnswerText column and have created a relationship between this table and the first column with those answer options. Everything works great.

 

I start running into trouble when I try to use the same reference table on another column. I have solved the problem by copying the reference table as many times as I need it and making relationships between each reference table and the column in question.

 

So, could someone tell me if there's a recognised way to deal with this type of situation where I only need one reference table that can work across all columns?

 

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

 

Cheers,

Mark

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
v-yuezhe-msft
Microsoft Employee
Microsoft Employee

@67nmark,

In your scenario,  you can create the following sort columns  in your table.

sort1 = RELATED(Reference[AnswerID])
sort2 = LOOKUPVALUE(Reference[AnswerID],Reference[AnswerText],Table[Column2])
sort3 = LOOKUPVALUE(Reference[AnswerID],Reference[AnswerText],Table[Column3])
……
sort10 = LOOKUPVALUE(Reference[AnswerID],Reference[AnswerText],Table[Column10])

Then you can sort the 10 columns by using these sort columns.

Regards,
Lydia

Community Support Team _ Lydia Zhang
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

View solution in original post

3 REPLIES 3
Zmas
New Member

I have the same issue but with a survey of 70+ questions. Creating a new sort_order column for each question is a complete waste of time. Does anyone have any new solutions to this issue?

 

I see that this is a common issue and I am really confused as to why Microsoft doesn't simply enable manual sorting within the visual... 

v-yuezhe-msft
Microsoft Employee
Microsoft Employee

@67nmark,

In your scenario,  you can create the following sort columns  in your table.

sort1 = RELATED(Reference[AnswerID])
sort2 = LOOKUPVALUE(Reference[AnswerID],Reference[AnswerText],Table[Column2])
sort3 = LOOKUPVALUE(Reference[AnswerID],Reference[AnswerText],Table[Column3])
……
sort10 = LOOKUPVALUE(Reference[AnswerID],Reference[AnswerText],Table[Column10])

Then you can sort the 10 columns by using these sort columns.

Regards,
Lydia

Community Support Team _ Lydia Zhang
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

Thanks Lydia,

I'm thinking it's probably easier for me to do what I've done but that's a handy answer.

Cheers,

Mark

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