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Posted to notifications@superset.apache.org by "sfirke (via GitHub)" <gi...@apache.org> on 2026/02/25 16:05:29 UTC

[I] Can't sort an x-axis by another variable [superset]

sfirke opened a new issue, #38249:
URL: https://github.com/apache/superset/issues/38249

### Bug description

Backstory:
- Continues #9998 which was closed without completion and #30575 which is a discussion. It's technically a feature request but feels like a bug, to not be able to do such an essential thing in Superset in 2026, so I'm taking the liberty of turning it into an issue,
- The conversation in #34352 sprawled into this broader problem, but it should standalone here. Its PR #37712 might solve part or all of this.

**Users need to be able to sort an x-axis in a custom order by specifying another variable.** See #30575 for examples. Many categorical x-axes have a rigid sorting order that is not alphabetical. For instance:
- Days of the week
- Months of the year
- Group size data (1-5, 6-20, 21-50)

As far as I know, this worked okay when we could use the legacy bar chart, but is a bigger problem now in Superset 6.0.0. Right now users have to create a copy of the x-axis variable and preface it with numbers or varying amounts of whitespace as a sorting order hack. Here I am using `1.Under 18 years` so that it shows up first:

I would rather have a separate variable in my dataset called `age_group_sort_order` and then I could not have the preface numbers cluttering up my chart.

Alternatively, I have used a BI tool that lets a user type the sort order in the dataset UI. This would also be an acceptable way to resolve this problem, IMO. We could even do both: allow sort by another variable AND allow the original variable's sort order to be specified manually.

This applies to any chart with an x-axis: bar chart, line chart, heatmap.

If I'm wrong and there's a way to do this, I am happy to be proven wrong and I will add it to the documentation!

### Screenshots/recordings

_No response_

### Superset version

6.0.0

### Python version

Not applicable

### Node version

Not applicable

### Browser

Not applicable

### Additional context

_No response_

### Checklist

- [x] I have searched Superset docs and Slack and didn't find a solution to my problem.
- [x] I have searched the GitHub issue tracker and didn't find a similar bug report.
- [x] I have checked Superset's logs for errors and if I found a relevant Python stacktrace, I included it here as text in the "additional context" section.

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Re: [I] Can't manipulate a categorical x-axis to sort by another variable [superset]

Posted by "rusackas (via GitHub) via notifications" <no...@superset.apache.org>.

rusackas closed issue #38249: Can't manipulate a categorical x-axis to sort by another variable
URL: https://github.com/apache/superset/issues/38249


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Re: [I] Can't manipulate a categorical x-axis to sort by another variable [superset]

Posted by "shaymongracia (via GitHub)" <gi...@apache.org>.

shaymongracia commented on issue #38249:
URL: https://github.com/apache/superset/issues/38249#issuecomment-3983955282

   To me this is more likely a bug than a feature. We end up using a prefix number or letter to do the ordering.
   
   This will be nice to have


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