how to sort by values in pivot table

3 min read 21-10-2024

Sorting Your Way to Clarity: Mastering Value Sorting in Pivot Tables

Pivot tables are powerful tools for analyzing data, but sometimes you need to rearrange the data for easier comprehension. Sorting by values in a pivot table can be incredibly useful for quickly identifying trends, outliers, or key insights.

This guide will walk you through the process of sorting by values in pivot tables, using examples and explanations from real-world scenarios.

Why Sort by Values?

Before we dive into the how-to, let's understand why you might want to sort by values in a pivot table:

Highlight Top Performers: Need to identify your top-selling products or highest-performing employees? Sorting by value will bring these items to the top of your pivot table.
Identify Outliers: Are there any unusual data points that require further investigation? Sorting by value will help you quickly find these outliers and dig deeper.
Understand Data Distribution: How are your data points distributed? Sorting by value can reveal patterns and trends that might be hidden in raw data.
Create Visual Appeal: A well-sorted pivot table is easier to read and understand, especially when you're presenting data to others.

Sorting by Values: A Step-by-Step Guide

Let's illustrate the process with a simple example. Imagine you have a pivot table showing the sales performance of different product categories in different regions. You want to see which regions are performing best in terms of total sales for each category.

Here's how you can sort by values in your pivot table:

Select the Field: Click on the cell containing the value you want to sort. In our example, it would be the total sales value for each product category.
Go to the Analyze Tab: In Excel, go to the "Analyze" tab, which is located in the PivotTable Tools ribbon.
Choose "Sort: Click on the "Sort" button in the "Analyze" tab.
Select "Values": From the drop-down menu, select "Values".
Choose Sorting Order: Select "Ascending" to sort from lowest to highest, or "Descending" to sort from highest to lowest.
Apply the Sort: Click "OK" to apply the sorting.

Visualizing the Change: Your pivot table will now be sorted based on the values you selected. In our example, the regions will be sorted by the total sales for each product category, making it easy to identify the top-performing regions for each category.

Tips and Considerations

Field Types: Sorting by values is most useful for numerical data, but you can also sort by text data (e.g., alphabetically).
Multiple Sorts: You can sort by multiple fields to create more complex sort orders. For example, you could sort by total sales, then by region, then by category.
Sort Order: Be mindful of the sorting order (ascending or descending) based on the insights you want to gain.
Pivot Table Design: Adjust your pivot table design to clearly communicate your sorted data to your audience.

Beyond Basic Sorting: Advanced Techniques

For more intricate analysis, explore advanced techniques like "Sort by Row Labels" or "Sort by Column Labels". These options allow you to sort the rows or columns based on the labels themselves, providing additional flexibility in your data analysis.

For instance, you could sort your product categories alphabetically, or sort your regions geographically.

Key Takeaways:

Sorting by values is an essential skill for data analysis using pivot tables.
Understanding the available sort options and their applications can unlock valuable insights from your data.
By effectively sorting your pivot tables, you can easily identify key trends, analyze outliers, and create visually appealing data representations.

Let me know if you want to explore specific scenarios or advanced sorting techniques in detail. I'm here to help you master the art of pivot table sorting!