Grouping records helps people who read the document understand the data better. Grouping the data sets up a type of hierarchy within the document, and an inherent or implied sort order for the data in the document. The data is sorted first by the first field in the Grouping panel, then by the next field, and so on. To reorder the grouping, you can move the fields in the Grouping panel (as described in the procedure below).
You can select which grouping fields to sort, the sorting criteria (what to sort by), and the sorting order (ascending or descending). Any object in the Grouping panel can be sorted.
If the object is an attribute, an ascending sort orders the data from smallest to largest, such as A - Z, or 1-10. If you choose descending order then the data appears from largest to smallest, such as Z - A, or 10 - 1.
If the object is a consolidation, you cannot change the order. You can change the sorting criteria from top to bottom. Top means that the element name is displayed first, then the individual items. Bottom means that the individual items of an element are displayed first, followed by the element name. However, for these options to affect the document, the custom group must be displayed as Show only the individual items within this element and also, expand these individual items if possible or Show element names, individual items within this element and also, expand these individual items if possible.
If the object is a custom group, an ascending sort displays the elements in the order in which they were defined. Descending order reverses that order.
To specify whether a custom group is sorted first by the element or by the element's individual items, the custom group must be displayed as either of the following in the Custom Group Editor in MicroStrategy Desktop. For more information, contact your administrator.
Show only the individual items within this element and also, expand these individual items if possible
Show element names, individual items within this element and also, expand these individual items if possible
Open the document in Design or Editable Mode.
From the Data menu, select Sort Document. The Sort Document dialog box opens.
From the Sort By drop-down list in the Grouping area, select the object to sort. The list contains all the objects in the primary dataset, regardless of where or whether they are placed on the document.
If the Sort By object is an attribute, select which attribute form to sort on.
If the Sort By object is a custom group, from the Criteria drop-down list, select from the following options:
Default: inherits the sort property of the custom group
Top: the element name is displayed first, then its individual items
Bottom: the individual items of an element are displayed, followed by the element name
Note: These options affect the document only if the custom group is displayed as "Show only the individual items within this element and also, expand these individual items if possible" or "Show element names, individual items within this element and also, expand these individual items if possible".
If the Sort By object is a consolidation or metric, the only option is Default.
Select Ascending
or Descending for each object.
Note: You cannot change the Order if the Criteria
of an attribute is set to Default. You can change the order of a custom
group only if you selected Sort on Attribute ID in the Criteria.
Change each grouping field as necessary. When you are done, click OK to apply the changes.