Sorting data is an important task in creating a useful report. A customer phone list, for example, is easier to use if it is in alphabetical order. A sales report is more useful if it presents sales figures from highest to lowest, or the reverse, if you want to see lowest to highest performers.
You sort data to display report content in a more meaningful order. You can sort data in ascending or descending order, and you can sort by as many as three fields. For example, you can sort a list of customers by credit rank, then by customer name.
Sorting on a single column
To sort data on a single column, select and right‑click the column. Choose Sort➛Sort Ascending or Sort Descending.
Sorting on multiple columns
You can sort data by as many as three columns. When you sort by multiple columns, you use the Advanced Sort dialog box, shown in Figure 7‑2. It is important to understand the order of precedence for a multiple sort action. On Advanced Sort, select the columns in the order in which you want to sort the data. For example, to sort data by country first, and then by customer name within each country, select the columns in that order.
How to sort data on multiple columns
1 Select and right‑click a column. Choose Sort➛Advanced Sort.
2 In Advanced Sort, in Sort By, select a column from the list, then choose either Ascending or Descending, as shown in Figure 7‑2.
3 Select a second column from the next drop‑down list. Choose the sort order.
You can also select a third column on which to sort. Choose OK.
Figure 7‑2 Sorting data on multiple columns
Reverting data to its original order
To revert data to its original unsorted order, select and right‑click a column. Choose Sort➛Advanced Sort. In Advanced Sort, for each column containing sorted data, choose Select a Column from the drop‑down list. Choose OK.
