The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Access versions 7.0, 97
SUMMARY
Advanced: Requires expert coding, interoperability, and multiuser skills.
By default, a chart sorts the X-axis fields in alphabetical or numeric
order. This article describes two methods you can use to sort the X-axis
fields in a different order.
MORE INFORMATION
There are two methods you can use to change the ordering of fields in a
chart. The first way is to add an Order By clause to the SQL statement in
the chart's RowSource property. The second way is to create a query that
orders the fields the way you want them, and then to use the query for the
chart's RowSource property.
How to Create a Sample Chart
To create a chart, follow these steps:
- Open the sample database Northwind.mdb.
- Create a new, blank form not based on any table or query.
- On the Insert menu, click Chart, and then click in the Detail section of
the form where you want the chart to appear.
- In the Chart Wizard dialog box, select the Sales By Category query as
the data source for the chart, and then click Next.
- Add the CategoryName and ProductSales fields to the Fields For Chart
box, and then click Finish.
- View the form in Form view. Note that the CategoryName records are
listed in alphabetical order.
How to Change the Chart's Sorting Order
Method 1
The following example demonstrates how to add an Order By clause to the SQL
statement in a Chart's RowSource property:
- Open the form that you created in the "How to Create a Sample Chart"
section in Design view.
- Select the chart.
- On the View menu, click Properties.
- Select the RowSource property of the chart, and then press SHIFT+F2 to
zoom in on the window. Note that the RowSource property's Select
statement reads as follows:
SELECT [CategoryName],Sum([ProductSales]) AS [SumOfProductSales] FROM
[Sales by Category] GROUP BY [CategoryName];
- Type "Order By SUM([ProductSales]) desc" (without the quotation marks)
before the semicolon at the end of the SQL statement so that the SQL
statement reads as follows:
SELECT [CategoryName],Sum([ProductSales]) AS SumOfProductSales] FROM
[Sales by Category] GROUP BY [CategoryName] Order By
SUM([ProductSales]) desc;
- Click OK.
- View the form in Form view. Note that the CategoryName records are now
listed in descending order of sales.
Method 2
The following example describes how to create and use a query for the
chart's RowSource property:
- Re-create the form with a chart that you created in the "How to Create a
Sample Chart" section.
- Select the Chart.
- On the View menu, click Properties.
- Using the right mouse button, click the RowSource property, and then
click Build.
- In the SQL Statement: Query Builder window, set the sort order for the
ProductSales field to Descending.
- Close the SQL Statement: Query Builder window and save the changes.
- View the form in Form view. Note that the CategoryName records are
listed in descending order of sales.
REFERENCES
For more information about ordering fields, search for "order by clause"
using the Microsoft Access 97 Help Index.
For more information about this topic in earlier versions of Microsoft
Access, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q109315
TITLE : ACC: How to Change the Order of Columns in a Graph (1.x,
2.0)