Sorting Prompt values in SAP BO Webi report

In Business Objects 4.1, you can sort prompt values (List of Values - LOV) to display them in a specific order when users make selections. This can be done by following the below steps in the Universe ?

Steps to Sort Prompt Values

Step 1: Navigate to Parameters and LOV

Open your Universe in Information Design Tool and navigate to the Parameters and LOV section where your prompts are defined.

Step 2: Edit SQL Query

Next, go to the Edit SQL option for your specific List of Values (LOV). Here you need to write a query with ORDER BY clause to get the desired sorting order ?

SELECT DISTINCT column_name 
FROM table_name 
ORDER BY column_name ASC

For example, if you want to sort product categories alphabetically, your query would look like ?

SELECT DISTINCT PRODUCT_CATEGORY 
FROM PRODUCTS 
ORDER BY PRODUCT_CATEGORY ASC

You can also use DESC for descending order or order by multiple columns as needed.

Step 3: Save and Test

After modifying the SQL query, save your changes and publish the Universe. When users run reports with prompts, the values will now appear in the sorted order you specified.

Conclusion

Sorting prompt values in SAP BO WebI reports improves user experience by presenting List of Values in a logical order. This is achieved by adding an ORDER BY clause to the LOV SQL query in the Universe design.