Jet Reports gives you full control over how your report data is sorted. While Jet functions automatically return results in ascending order, you can easily change the sort sequence, apply descending order or sort based on multiple fields including calculated values like SUM or COUNT.

This guide explains everything you need to know to start sorting data confidently.

Understanding Sorting in Jet Reports

By default, Jet functions sort results ascending based on the field values returned.
However, you can override this with simple operators added to the FilterField parameter.

FilterField vs. Filter

Before sorting, remember these two terms:

• FilterField: The table field you’re using to limit or sort your data

• Filter: The actual filter value(s) applied to that field

In the Jet Function Wizard (Jfx), you’ll see them displayed as “Field” and “Filter.”
In Excel, they appear within your NL formula as paired parameters.

Basic Sorting (Ascending & Descending)

Jet Reports uses symbols in the FilterField parameter to define sort order:

• +FieldName → Sort Ascending

• –FieldName → Sort Descending

Example: Sort Customer Names Ascending

Example: Sort Customer Names Descending

Sorting by Multiple Fields (Primary & Secondary Sorting)

You can define more than one sort layer by adding multiple FilterField pairs.

Example: Sort by CustomerID (ASC), then Quantity (DESC)

This first sorts all ProductID values by CustomerID, and then sorts matching groups by Quantity in descending order.

Sorting by the Sum of a Field

Using Dynamics NAV

Report designers often need to sort based on totals, such as the sum of Quantity or the count of records.
Jet Reports supports this through a more advanced “Sort by Sum” technique.

For NAV users, see the full guide: Sort By Sum (Or Count) With Dynamics NAV (article link on your site).

Using SQL or Other Data Sources

Non-NAV data sources make sorting by SUM even simpler.

See: Sort By Sum For Data Sources Other Than NAV (article link).

Optimizing Sort Performance with Dynamics NAV Keys

Jet Reports can sort internally, but using NAV Keys is faster and more efficient.

For Best Performance:

• Add a NAV key that includes all fields used for sorting

• Ensure the order of fields in the key matches the sort order

• If returning a field using NL, include that field in the key too

Example

Your NL function sorts by State then Customer No.:

Your NAV key should begin with:

(Additional fields may follow.)

Jet Sorting vs. NAV Sorting

• By default, NAV handles sorting—this is preferred because NAV keys sort data extremely fast.

• If Jet cannot find a matching NAV key, it sorts internally within Excel.

Summary

Sorting in Jet Reports is flexible and powerful:

• Use + and – for quick ascending/descending sorting

• Apply multi-level sorting using multiple FilterField pairs

• Sort by SUM or COUNT for advanced analysis

• Improve performance with NAV Keys

• Let NAV handle sorting whenever possible for best speed

This guide helps you get started, whether you’re designing a simple report or optimizing a complex analysis.

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