Published on November 1, 2023 by Jake Sheridan
Welcome to this tutorial where I will show you how to sort pivot tables in Google Sheets. Get ready to uncover the power of this convenient and powerful feature that allows you to analyze large amounts of data with a simple interface.
The Power of Pivot Tables in Google Sheets
Google Sheets offers a powerful and convenient way to analyze large amounts of data using pivot tables. You can use these tables to organize and summarize your data in different ways using the pivot table editor.
In this article, I will explain how to sort a pivot table in Google Sheets.
How to Sort a Pivot Table in Ascending or Descending Order in Google Sheets
Here’s how you can sort a pivot table in ascending or descending order in Google Sheets.
Step 1
Select the pivot table that you want to sort. You will see the pivot table editor on the right side of your screen. In the “Rows” section, expand the “Order” dropdown.
Step 2
You can now choose to sort your pivot table data in ascending or descending order.
In this example, we will sort our pivot table by country name in descending order.
Step 3
After selecting your preferred sorting arrangement, your pivot table will automatically update.
Step 4
We can also change the sorting field. Expand the dropdown below the “Sort by” label to see other options.
Step 5
The dropdown will also display the values you have set for the current pivot table.
Step 6
In this example, we were able to sort our pivot table by the “Total Quantity” field.
Step 7
Google Sheets allows you to sort your pivot table using multiple sorting fields. In the example below, we have two row fields to sort. The data will be sorted first by country, then by color.
If you want to change the order of sorting, simply drag the row items in the pivot table editor to match your preferred priority. The topmost field will be the primary sorting for your data.
Step 8
Using multiple sorts is useful when summarizing rows that use two or more fields.
Pivot tables have allowed us to sort our data by country in alphabetical order and also sort T-shirt sales by color for each country in descending order of sales quantity.
In Summary
This guide should provide you with everything you need to sort a pivot table in Google Sheets. Feel free to copy this spreadsheet example to try it out for yourself.
Thank you for reading and don’t forget to visit Crawlan.com for more tips and tricks on Google Sheets. See you soon!
