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transformations:sort

SORT

Category: Transform / Basic


Description

This action sorts the table by one or more columns in ascending or descending order. The order of the columns matters.


Use cases

  • To find the least/greatest amounts in a column. (numeric)
  • To create an alphabetized list. (text)
  • To establish a date-time ordered list. (date)
  • To discover errors in a column by grouping them at the top/bottom of the column. (error)


Action settings

SettingDescription
ColumnsSelect the column to arrange the values of.
Sort orderOptions: Ascending and Descending. This setting determines the order of the sort for the selected column.

Additional columns can be added to the sorting criteria by clicking the Sort by more columns option.


Remarks

Since the values of a column can be of mixed types, the sorting order depends on the value type. For ascending sorting, the order is the following:

  • Errors
  • Empty cells
  • Boolean values
  • Text
  • Numbers

In descending order, the sorting order is the reverse.


Examples

Example #1

Arrange the rivers in alphabetical order.

Before (source table)

River Length (km) Continent
Mississippi 6275North America
Amazon 6400South America
Yenisei 5539Asia
Paraná 4880South America

After (result table)

River Length (km) Continent
Amazon 6400South America
Mississippi 6275North America
Paraná 4880South America
Yenisei 5539Asia

Action parameters:

Column: River
Sorting order: Ascending


Example #2

Arrange values in ascending order by Continent, then River.

Before (source table)

River Length (km) Continent
Mississippi 6275North America
Amazon 6400South America
Yenisei 5539Asia
Paraná 4880South America

After (result table)

River Length (km) Continent
Yenisei 5539Asia
Amazon 6400South America
Paraná 4880South America
Mississippi 6275North America

Action parameters:

Column, Sorting order: Continent, ascending
Column, Sorting order: River, ascending


Community examples


Shortcuts

Fast ways to create the action:

  • Right-click on the heading of the column to sort and select "Sort".
  • To sort by multiple columns, select the columns included in the sort. Right-click on one of the selected column headings and select "Sort". Columns will be sorted in left-to-right column order.
transformations/sort.txt · Last modified: 2025/01/10 18:27 by craigt

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