When you create a group, the default setting specifies sorting the group values by the grouping field in ascending order. For example, if you create an order ID group, the default setting is to sort order ID values in ascending order. You can, however, sort the group values by a different field. For example, rather than sort group values by order ID, you can sort by order total.

Sorting at the group level is different from sorting at the detail row level. To sort at the detail row level, specify the sorting criteria in the Sorting page in Property Editor. To sort at the group level, specify the sorting criteria in the Groups page.

The report in Figure 12‑17 groups sales data by product code. The group header, highlighted by a gray background, displays the product code and the sales total. The product code group uses the default sorting, which sorts by product code in ascending order, such as S10_1678, S10_1949, and so on.

The reports in Figure 12‑17 and Figure 12‑18 contain the same data. The report in Figure 12‑18 sorts the data by the product sales total in ascending order, rather than sorting by product code.

By changing the field on which groups are sorted, you can choose the information to emphasize. As Figure 12‑18 shows, the report can group sales data by product code but list them in order of sales total, which is often a more useful way to present sales information.