Sorts a list.
Purpose
Sorts a List.If a table of values is provided, e.g. DeviceA^10^20;DeviceZ^5^30;DeviceDead^30^90;DeviceW^10^90, then specify the columns you wish to sort on with orderByColumns, zero-indexed.
Compatibility
The macro can be used in all input document types and in Report Studio.
Behaviour (10)
| Parameter | Type | Presence | Purpose | Options | Default |
| String | Optional | Post processing formula. Use {value} for the macro output, e.g. {value}/1024. | N/A | N/A | |
| Boolean | Optional | Should NCalc expression evaluation throw error on Overflow |
|
true | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'fatal' if the expression evaluates to true. Use 'value' as the macro output in the expression. | N/A | N/A | |
| Boolean | Optional | Whether to hide the macro output. |
|
false | |
| String | Optional | The condition that must be true in order for the macro to be executed/evaluated. Must either evaluate to true or false, for example: "3+5=8" or "contains('abcd', 'z'). | N/A | true | |
| MacroMode | Optional | The mode in which variables are stored. In the legacy mode (default for Schedules), the variable created is a string and formatted. In the normal mode (default for Report Studio), the output variable is stored as a strongly-typed theObject, e.g. an Int32 or a List |
|
Legacy | |
| ObfuscationType | Optional | Obfuscation type. Use obfuscation to write reports where sensitive data is hidden. When used, ReportMagic guarantees that the same input string will map to the same output string for the whole of the report (but the next time the report runs, it will most likely map to a different value). If you use obfuscation, the property in your macro will not show up and instead, you will see a fake item of the obfuscation type chosen. |
|
None | |
| Boolean | Optional | Whether substituted variables are hidden from macro results (and the word 'REDACTED' will appear in progress screens and elsewhere in the web UI). |
|
false | |
| Boolean | Optional | Whether to trim leading and trailing whitespace on input items. The trim operation is done BEFORE other operators such as selecting distinct items or sorting. |
|
false | |
| String | Optional | If specified, adds a warning message for this macro. This is processed as an NCalc, and the warning message will ALWAYS be present and will be the value of the evaluated NCalc expression. | N/A | N/A |
Colours (6)
| Parameter | Type | Presence | Purpose | Options | Default |
| Boolean | Optional | Whether to color table cells if thresholds are breached, rather than color the text. |
|
true | |
| Color | Optional | The font background color to use. |
|
N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The font color to use. |
|
N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The normal font background color to use. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The normal font color to use. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The normal table cell background color to use. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A |
Formatting (5)
| Parameter | Type | Presence | Purpose | Options | Default |
| Boolean | Optional | Change the font weight (true=strong, false=normal). If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Double | Optional | Change the font size in points. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| String | Optional | The formatting to use for numbers. You can also specify 'format=string' to force numbers to be treated as strings. | N/A | N/A | |
| Boolean | Optional | Change the normal font weight (true=strong, false=normal). If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Double | Optional | Change the normal font size in points. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A |
Conditional Formatting (69)
| Parameter | Type | Presence | Purpose | Options | Default |
| DateTimeOffset | Optional | The macro is considered 'critical' if the output is after this DateTime UTC. | N/A | N/A | |
| DateTimeOffset | Optional | The macro is considered 'critical' if the output is before this DateTime UTC. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'critical' if the output is equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The critical font background color to use. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Boolean | Optional | Change the font weight (true=strong, false=normal). If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The critical font color to use. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Double | Optional | Change the critical font size in points. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'critical' if the output is greater than or equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'critical' if the output is greater than this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'critical' if the expression evaluates to true. Use 'value' as the macro output in the expression. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'critical' if the output is less than or equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'critical' if the output is less than this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'critical' if the output is not equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The critical table cell background color to use. |
|
N/A | |
| DateTimeOffset | Optional | The macro is considered 'error' if the output is after this DateTime UTC. | N/A | N/A | |
| DateTimeOffset | Optional | The macro is considered 'error' if the output is before this DateTime UTC. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'error' if the output is equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The error font background color to use. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Boolean | Optional | Change the error font weight (true=strong, false=normal). If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The error font color to use. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Double | Optional | Change the error font size in points. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'error' if the output is greater than or equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'error' if the output is greater than this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'error' if the expression evaluates to true. Use 'value' as the macro output in the expression. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'error' if the output is less than or equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'error' if the output is less than this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'error' if the output is not equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The error table cell background color to use. |
|
N/A | |
| DateTimeOffset | Optional | The macro is considered 'fatal' if the output is after this DateTime UTC. | N/A | N/A | |
| DateTimeOffset | Optional | The macro is considered 'fatal' if the output is before this DateTime UTC. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'fatal' if the output is equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The fatal font background color to use. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Boolean | Optional | Change the fatal font weight (true=strong, false=normal). If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The fatal font color to use. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Double | Optional | Change the fatal font size in points. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'fatal' if the output is greater than or equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'fatal' if the output is greater than this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'fatal' if the output is less than or equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'fatal' if the output is less than this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'fatal' if the output is not equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The fatal table cell background color to use. |
|
N/A | |
| DateTimeOffset | Optional | The macro is considered 'info' if the output is after this DateTime UTC. | N/A | N/A | |
| DateTimeOffset | Optional | The macro is considered 'info' if the output is before this DateTime UTC. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'info' if the output is equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The info font background color to use. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Boolean | Optional | Change the info font weight (true=strong, false=normal). If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The info font color to use. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Double | Optional | Change the info font size in points. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'info' if the output is greater than or equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'info' if the output is greater than this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'info' if the expression evaluates to true. Use 'value' as the macro output in the expression. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'info' if the output is less than or equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'info' if the output is less than this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'info' if the output is not equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The info table cell background color to use. |
|
N/A | |
| DateTimeOffset | Optional | The macro is considered 'warning' if the output is after this DateTime UTC. | N/A | N/A | |
| DateTimeOffset | Optional | The macro is considered 'warning' if the output is before this DateTime UTC. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'warning' if the output is equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The warning font background color to use. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Boolean | Optional | Change the warning font weight (true=strong, false=normal). If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The warning font color to use. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| Double | Optional | Change the warning font size in points. If omitted, no change is made. |
|
N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'warning' if the output is greater than or equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'warning' if the output is greater than this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'warning' if the expression evaluates to true. Use 'value' as the macro output in the expression. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'warning' if the output is less than or equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'warning' if the output is less than this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The macro is considered 'warning' if the output is not equal to this value. | N/A | N/A | |
| Color | Optional | The warning table cell background color to use. |
|
N/A |
Filtering & Sorting (8)2 additional
| Parameter | Type | Presence | Purpose | Options | Default |
| List<String> | Optional | In 'normal' mode only, the comparisons that are jsonPaths. For multiple items, separate by a semi-colon e.g. property1;property2;... | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The condition that must be true, using 'value'. | N/A | N/A | |
| List<Int32> | Optional | The semicolon-separated ordered list of columns to order by. The first is 0. e.g. 0;2;1 | N/A | N/A | |
| List<String> | Optional | The semicolon-separated order directions. Each must be one of: Ascending, Asc, Descending or Desc. | N/A | None | |
| Int32 | Optional | The number of items AFTER the sort to skip. | N/A | 0 | |
| List<String> | Optional | The semicolon-separated sort types. Each must be one of Alphanumeric, Numeric or Auto. The default (Auto) will attempt a numeric sort if all the values are numeric, otherwise falls back to alphanumeric. | N/A | Auto | |
| StringListSortType | Optional | The sort method to use. This can be used to adjust the sort order used by the system. |
|
OrdinalIgnoreCase | |
| Int32 | Optional | The number of items AFTER the sort to take. | N/A | 2147483647 |
Output (1)9 additional
| Parameter | Type | Presence | Purpose | Options | Default |
| Char | Optional | The index delimiter. | N/A | ^ |
Additional (9)
| Parameter | Type | Presence | Purpose | Options | Default |
| Char | Optional | The delimiter character to delimit text-based input lists (e.g. 1;2;3;4). When this parameter is set and 'listDelimiter' is NOT set, this acts as both the input and output list delimiter. | N/A | ; | |
| String | Optional | The text to display should the macro fail to execute. Note that a poorly-specified macro (e.g. omitting mandatory parameters) will still result in an error message. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The name of a variable to create should the macro fail to execute. The variable will be a text variable, and will contain either the failure text (only if the failureText parameter is set), otherwise it will contain the exception / failure message. | N/A | N/A | |
| Char | Optional | In Legacy Mode only, the delimiter character to delimit the output list, UNLESS only 'delimiter' is set, in which case 'delimiter' acts as both the input and output list delimiter. | N/A | ; | |
Normal mode |
Boolean | Optional | Any macros that output lists can optionally (in Normal mode) output a jArray instead. |
|
true |
| String | Optional | The variable to store the result as. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | The variable to store the result as, while hiding the output. Equivalent to 'storeAs=ThisValue, hidden=true'. | N/A | N/A | |
| Char | Optional | The delimiter used by storeAs to split the input (Legacy mode only), when there are multiple stored variables. For example, in this macro, we indicate that the value to be stored should be split by the asterisk when being stored: [String:value=a*b*c*d, storeAs=var1;var2;var3;var4, storeAsVariableDelimiter=*] | N/A | ; | |
| String | Optional | The name of the STRING variable to store the result as and output (both will use the same format) into the report. Note that if you also use 'storeAsHidden' in the same macro, you should not expect the output to be hidden, as this parameter overrides that. | N/A | N/A |
General (6)
| Parameter | Type | Presence | Purpose | Options | Default |
| List<Object> | Mandatory | The list of input values. In Legacy Mode, they should be split by the delimiter character. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | Add a comment to make your document template more readable. The comment is discarded in the output document. | N/A | N/A | |
| ExecutionResult | Optional | If specified, asserts the expected execution result of the macro. The macro executes normally; if the actual result matches the desired value, the result is converted to Success. If the actual result does not match, the result is converted to MacroError with a descriptive message. This is primarily used for testing and diagnostic purposes. Valid values are: Unknown, Success, MacroError, WorkerStopped, Running, Warning, NeverRun, Cancelled, Pending, Paused, SystemError, Deferred, Stopped. |
|
N/A | |
| String | Optional | If specified, asserts the expected output type of the macro result. The macro executes normally; if the actual type does not match, a macro error is generated. Requires 'storeAs', 'storeAsHidden', or 'storeFormattedValueAs' to be set for typed validation. Valid types include CLR names (e.g. Int32, Int64, Single, Double, Boolean, String, JArray, JObject) and C# keyword aliases (e.g. int, long, float, double, bool, string, uint, ulong, short, ushort, byte, sbyte, decimal, char, object). The special value 'Number' matches any numeric type. | N/A | N/A | |
| String | Optional | If specified, asserts the expected output value of the macro result. The macro executes normally; if the actual value does not match, a macro error is generated. When 'storeAs' or 'storeAsHidden' is set, the stored variable value is compared. Otherwise, the document output text is compared. | N/A | N/A | |
Normal mode |
Boolean | Optional | In Normal Mode and for macros that output JArrays only, whether to convert a JArray of single-property jObjects into a flat JArray of values. |
|
false |
Deprecated (4)
| Parameter | Type | Preferred Parameter | Purpose | Options | Default |
| List<String> | comparisons | In 'normal' mode only, the comparisons that are jsonPaths. For multiple items, separate by a semi-colon e.g. property1;property2;... | N/A | N/A | |
| List<String> | orderDirection | The semicolon-separated order directions. Each must be one of: Ascending, Asc, Descending or Desc. | N/A | None | |
| List<Int32> | orderByIndices | The semicolon-separated ordered list of columns to order by. The first is 0. e.g. 0;2;1 | N/A | N/A | |
| List<String> | sortTypes | The semicolon-separated sort types. Each must be one of Alphanumeric, Numeric or Auto. The default (Auto) will attempt a numeric sort if all the values are numeric, otherwise falls back to alphanumeric. | N/A | Auto |
Examples (17)
Example 1Normal mode
This Normal Mode example demonstrates the use of the [Calculate:] macro shorthand [=:] to create a list variable, then uses [List.Sort:] to order the list based on a condition, storing the result as another list:
// Create a list using the Calculate macro shorthand
[=:`list(5, 2, 4, 3, 1)`, =>List1]
// Sort the list by descending order, and only take values less than 3
[List.Sort: values={=List1}, orderDirection=Desc, condition=value < 3, mode=Normal, storeAs=SortedList]Example 2
The value of this example is 1;2;3;4;5 because the default order direction is ascending, and the default sort type is auto (which attempts a numeric sort first):
[List.Sort: values=5;2;4;3;1, orderDirection=Asc]Example 3
The value of this example is 5;4;3;2;1 because the order direction is descending:
[List.Sort: values=5;2;4;3;1, orderDirection=Desc]Example 4
The value of this example is 1;11;2;3;4 because the sort type is alphanumeric:
[List.Sort: values=1;2;3;4;11, sortType=Alphanumeric, orderDirection=Asc]Example 5
The value of this example is 1;2;3;4;x because the default sort type (auto) falls back to an alphanumeric sort in this case, and numbers appear before characters in ascending order:
[List.Sort: values=1;2;x;3;4, orderDirection=Asc]Example 6
The value of this example (with two items with a value of 5) is 1;2;3;4;5;5 because selectDistinct is false by default:
[List.Sort: values=5;5;2;4;3;1, orderDirection=Asc]Example 7
The value of this example (with two items with a value of 5) is 1;2;3;4;5 because selectDistinct is true:
[List.Sort: values=5;2;4;3;1;5, selectDistinct=true, orderDirection=Asc]Example 8
The value of this example is two;three;one because sort type is alphanumeric and the order direction is descending:
[List.Sort: values=one;two;three, orderDirection=Desc]Example 9
The value of this example is two;three;one; because type is alphanumeric and the order direction is descending, and whitespace items are included by default:
[List.Sort: values=one;;two;three, orderDirection=Desc]Example 10
The value of this example is two;three;one because whitespace items are excluded:
[List.Sort: values=one;;two;three, orderDirection=desc, includeWhitespaceItems=false]Example 11
It is possible to sort as a table
[List.Sort: values=DeviceA^10^20;DeviceZ^5^30;DeviceW^10^90;DeviceDead^30^90, orderDirection=Asc;Desc, sortType=numeric, orderByIndices=2;1, indexDelimiter=^]Example 12
Sort an alphanumeric list (note that spaces are NOT removed in the output because the 'trimWhitespace' parameter is false by default):
[List.Sort: values= apples ; pears ; banana ; ; fruit salad ;fruitbowl;;, storeAs=Item]Example 13
Sort an alphanumeric list (note that spaces ARE removed in the output because the 'trimWhitespace' parameter is set to true):
[List.Sort: values= apples ; pears ; banana ; ; fruit salad ;fruitbowl;;, trimWhitespace=true, storeAs=Item]Example 14
Skip and take can be used:
[List.Sort: values=b;a;c;d;e, orderDirection=Asc, skip=1, take=2]Example 15
This example uses the 'condition' parameter to conditionally sort the list, only where the value is less than 3:
[List.Sort: values=5;2;4;2;1, orderDirection=Desc, condition=value<3]Example 16Normal mode
This example (in Normal Mode only) creates a jArray (via the Array macro) then sorts it by Lastname then Firstname properties:
// Firstly, create a JArray
[Array:value=<json>
[
{
"Firstname": "Peter",
"Lastname": "A"
},
{
"Firstname": "Peter",
"Lastname": "B"
},
{
"Firstname": "Peter",
"Lastname": "C"
},
{
"Firstname": "Peter",
"Lastname": "D"
}
]
</json>,=>TheArray]
// Now sort (alphanumerically) and store as a variable called B
[List.Sort: values={=TheArray}, comparisons=`Lastname;Firstname`, orderDirection=Desc;Desc,=>B]Example 17Normal mode
This example (in Normal Mode only) creates a jArray (via the Array macro) then sorts it by the Thing.Age property, numerically ascending:
// Firstly, create a JArray
[Array:value=<json>
[
{
"Thing" :
{
"Age" : 10,
},
"Firstname": "Peter",
"Lastname": "A"
},
{
"Thing" :
{
"Age" : 2,
},
"Firstname": "Peter",
"Lastname": "B"
},
{
"Thing" :
{
"Age" : 3,
},
"Firstname": "Peter",
"Lastname": "C"
},
{
"Thing" :
{
"Age" : 4,
},
"Firstname": "Peter",
"Lastname": "D"
}
]
</json>,=>TheArray]
// Now sort (alphanumerically) and store as a variable called B
[List.Sort: values={=TheArray}, comparisons=`Thing.Age`, orderDirection=Asc,=>B]