powerquery sort based on two columns

[PhilippeMuniesa]

hello,

I have a table with three columns, and I would like to sort on 2 columns,

I do not find how to do.

While waiting for a relevant solution, I merged the two columns and sorted it out, but I think there is more efficiency.

I attach an excel file with the starting table and the desired result.

https://www.dropbox.com/t/DsQFZmgLoay8YUNK

Thnaks a lot

Philippe

[lbendlin]

How Power Query Thinks: Taking the Mystery Out of Streaming and Query Folding (Video) | Ben Gribaudo

Sorting is covered around the 20:00 mark but you will want to watch the entire video, multiple times.

[lbendlin]

Sort by the first column. Sort by the second column.  You will see little numbers appear

Or you can do it in code.

Note:  Sorting in Power Query is a red flag/code smell.  In the vast majority of cases you do not need/want to sort your data in Power Query.

[Einomi]

@lbendlin 

Can you explain shortly why it is not a good idea to sort data in PQ ?

[lbendlin]

@Einomi did you watch the video?

[Einomi]

@lbendlin 

Can you explain shortly why it is not a good idea to sort data in PQ ?

[bourquejeff1975]

Hi! I'm not sure why PQ strips out sorting when merging queries sometimes, but the fix is this:
- After sorting the columns, click on the "fx" button in the formula bar (on the left)
- Put the code after the "=" in parenthesis, and add the "Table.Buffer" function in front

Example:
= Table.Buffer(#"Sorted Rows1")

This somehow makes the sorting "stick" no matter what else you do.

[PhilippeMuniesa]

Yes, i'm interested too.

And in my project, i need sort tables because thay are not read in order and for the transformations, i need to get table sorted by date and by item.

Sincerly

Philippe