How can I sort data items in a unique order that is not ascending or descending?

Problem

Figure A.8 shows the default sequence of regions in a pivot table report. Alphabetically, the regions are shown in sequence of North, South, West. If your company is based in California, company traditions might dictate that the West region should be shown first, followed by North and South.

Figure A.8. Company traditions might dictate that the Region field should be in West, North, South sequence. Unfortunately, neither an Ascending sort order nor a Descending sort order can help you.

Solution

You can rearrange data items in your pivot table manually by simply typing the exact name of the data item where you would like to see its data. You can also drag the data item where you want it.

To solve the problem in this example, you would simply type the word "West" in cell B5 and then press Enter. The pivot table will respond by resequencing the regions. The $216 million in sales for the West will automatically move from column D to column B. The remaining regions will move over to the next two columns.