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Sorting options for Power BI visuals

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This article describes the different options available for to specifying the way a visual sorts items in Power BI.

By default, a visual doesn't support modifying its sorting order, unless stated otherwise in the capabilities.json file.

The sorting capability requires at least one of the following parameters:

Default sorting

The default option is the simplest form. It allows the user to sort according to any one field and direction (ascending or descending). The user selects the direction and field from the more options menu.

Screenshot of table of US states with default sorting options the context menu.

To enable default sorting, add the following code to your capabilities.json file:

    "sorting": {
        "default": {   }
    }

Implicit sorting

Implicit sorting allows you to pre-define a sorting array using parameter clauses, that describes sorting for each data role. The user can't change the sorting order, so Power BI doesn't display sorting options in the visual's menu. However, Power BI does sort data according to specified settings.

To enable implicit sorting, add the implicit clauses to your capabilities.json file clauses parameters can contain several objects with two parameters each:

  • role: Determines DataMapping for sorting
  • direction: Determines sort direction (1 = Ascending, 2 = Descending)
    "sorting": {
        "implicit": {
            "clauses": [
                {
                    "role": "category",
                    "direction": 1
                },
                {
                    "role": "measure",
                    "direction": 2
                }
            ]
        }
    }

Custom sorting

Custom sorting gives the developer more flexibility when sorting. The developer can:

  • Allow the user to sort by multiple fields at a time.
  • Set a default sorting order for the data
  • Allow custom sorting operations during runtime

Enable custom sorting

To enable custom sorting, add the following code to your capabilities.json file:

    "sorting": {
        "custom": {} 
    }

Example: Custom sort API

let queryName1 = this.dataView.matrix.columns.levels[0].sources[0].queryName;
let queryName2 = this.dataView.matrix.columns.levels[1].sources[0].queryName;
let args: CustomVisualApplyCustomSortArgs = {
    sortDescriptors: [
        {
            queryName: queryName1,
            sortDirection: powerbi.SortDirection.Ascending
        },
        {
            queryName: queryName2,
            sortDirection: powerbi.SortDirection.Descending
        },
    ]
};
this.host.applyCustomSort(args);

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