Forum Discussion
How to Sort by Column on a Matrix Visual
I have this Matrix Table that was built. I need it to be sorted most to least recent, as opposed to how it is right now.
I can sort by row if I use the more options button but not by column. Any help is much appreciated. Thank you.
Hi abraine
Since Power BI does not allow direct sorting of columns in a Matrix, follow these steps:
Option 1: Create a Sort Order Column using RANKX- In Power BI Desktop, go to Data View.
- Open the table containing your date column.
- Create a new calculated column in DAX:
- DAX
SortOrder = RANKX(
ALL('YourTable'[DateColumn]),
'YourTable'[DateColumn],
,
DESC, -- Sort from most recent to oldest
DENSE -- Ensures continuous ranking
) - In Modeling → Sort by Column, select DateColumn and sort it by SortOrder.
Option 2: Use "Sort by Column" in the Modeling Tab
- If your table has a "Week Ending" or "Date" column, make sure it's formatted as a date.
- Go to Modeling → Click the DateColumn.
- Select Sort by Column → Choose DateColumn (or a numeric sort column if created).
- The matrix should now display columns in descending order (most recent first).
Note: If your date hierarchy is enabled in the matrix, try removing the hierarchy and using the raw date column.
If this response was helpful, please accept it as a solution and give kudos to support other community members
2 Replies
Add a sort column to your table, sort the dates column by that column. That will automatically render the column headers in the desired order.
Hi abraine
Since Power BI does not allow direct sorting of columns in a Matrix, follow these steps:
Option 1: Create a Sort Order Column using RANKX- In Power BI Desktop, go to Data View.
- Open the table containing your date column.
- Create a new calculated column in DAX:
- DAX
SortOrder = RANKX(
ALL('YourTable'[DateColumn]),
'YourTable'[DateColumn],
,
DESC, -- Sort from most recent to oldest
DENSE -- Ensures continuous ranking
) - In Modeling → Sort by Column, select DateColumn and sort it by SortOrder.
Option 2: Use "Sort by Column" in the Modeling Tab
- If your table has a "Week Ending" or "Date" column, make sure it's formatted as a date.
- Go to Modeling → Click the DateColumn.
- Select Sort by Column → Choose DateColumn (or a numeric sort column if created).
- The matrix should now display columns in descending order (most recent first).
Note: If your date hierarchy is enabled in the matrix, try removing the hierarchy and using the raw date column.
If this response was helpful, please accept it as a solution and give kudos to support other community members
