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How to Sort Power BI Data by Month or Week Chronologically

Phi Hung Vo Oct 22, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to know how to sort data chronologically by month or week instead of alphabetically in Power BI.

How to Sort Power BI Data by Month or Week

Product: Power BI
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Creating visual reports or dashboards where time-based data needs to be displayed in a logical, chronological order rather than an alphabetical one.
Observed behavior: Power BI defaults to sorting month names alphabetically (e.g., April, August) and week values incorrectly (e.g., Week 10 before Week 2) when they are stored as text.

Before you start

Ensure you have a numeric reference column (such as month numbers 1-12) available in your dataset, and verify that your week data contains numerical values rather than just text.

Solution 1Recommended

Sort Month Names Chronologically Using a Numeric Column

Use the Sort by Column feature to force Power BI to order month names based on their corresponding month numbers instead of alphabetically.

By default, Power BI treats text columns alphabetically. To establish chronological order, you must explicitly link your text-based month column to a numeric month column.

Select the Month Column

Navigate to the Data or Modeling view and click on the column containing your month names.

Access the Modeling Tab

Go to the 'Modeling' tab on the top ribbon menu.

Apply Sort by Column

Click on 'Sort by Column' and select your 'Month Number' column from the dropdown list.

Sort Month Names Chronologically Using a Numeric Column

Sorting Applied: Your visual representations using the month name will now display sequentially from January to December.

Solution 2

Correct Week Sorting by Changing Data Type

Prevent week numbers from sorting incorrectly (e.g., week 10 appearing before week 2) by converting the text column to a numeric format.

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1. Open your dataset: Launch WPS Spreadsheet and open your .xlsx or .csv data file.
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3. Apply custom sorting: Go to the 'Data' tab, click 'Sort', and choose 'Custom Sort' to order your data chronologically.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Power BI sort my months alphabetically instead of chronologically?

By default, Power BI treats text columns like month names as alphabetical strings. You must explicitly tell Power BI to sort the text column by a corresponding numerical column (like month numbers 1-12) using the 'Sort by Column' feature.

How do I fix week 10 appearing before week 2 in Power BI?

This happens when the week data is formatted as text. To fix it, select your week column, navigate to the Column tools, and change the Data Type from Text to Whole Number or Decimal Number.

What if I don't have a month number column in my dataset?

You will need to create one. You can use DAX functions like MONTH() or Power Query to extract the numerical month from your date column before applying the Sort by Column feature.

Can I sort data using a custom list order in Power BI?

Yes. You can create a conditional column in Power Query that assigns a specific numerical value to your custom categories, and then use that new numeric column in the Modeling > Sort by Column menu to order your data.

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