Field sort (alphabetic, data source) in Tableau - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

This data shows products and their sales values.

Cell	Value
A1	Product
A2	Banana
A3	Apple
A4	Carrot
B1	Sales
B2	100
B3	150
B4	120

Formula Trace

Sort Product field alphabetically

Step 1: Original Product list: [Banana, Apple, Carrot]

Step 2: Apply alphabetic sort to Product field

Cell Reference Map

   A        B
1 Product  Sales
2 Banana   100
3 Apple    150
4 Carrot   120

Arrow: Sorting applies to column A (Product)

The sort is applied on the Product column (A2:A4). Sales column remains unchanged.

Result

   A        B
1 Product  Sales
2 Apple    150
3 Banana   100
4 Carrot   120

After sorting alphabetically by Product, the rows reorder so Apple is first, then Banana, then Carrot. Sales values move with their products.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What is the first product after alphabetic sorting?

A Banana

B Apple

C Carrot

D Sales

Key Result

Sorting a field alphabetically rearranges its values from A to Z, moving related row data accordingly.