How to sort a vector in R based on manual position of elements?

To sort a vector based on manual position of elements, we can use order function along with the factor function. The factor function will help us to arrange the vector elements in the order we want by defining the levels as vector elements and order function will order them. Check out the below examples to understand how it works.

Example1

Live Demo

> x1<-sample(0:4,200,replace=T)
> x1

Output

[1] 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 2 3 1 2 2 2 4 3 1 4 1 0 1 1 3 3 0 0 4 4 2 4 2 4 2 0 4 0 1 1
[38] 4 2 0 1 0 3 0 4 3 2 0 0 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 4 2 2 4 2 0 4 3 3 1 3 1 2 3 0 2 2 0
[75] 1 1 4 4 4 0 4 0 3 4 0 3 1 4 2 2 3 0 2 4 3 1 2 1 1 3 1 3 4 4 3 1 1 4 4 1 0
[112] 2 2 4 0 0 2 2 1 2 4 4 0 4 1 2 0 3 0 0 4 1 2 4 0 1 1 0 4 1 3 2 0 4 4 2 4 1
[149] 3 4 4 3 2 1 2 2 0 3 4 1 0 1 4 4 0 4 0 2 3 4 1 4 3 2 1 2 4 0 1 3 0 4 2 4 4
[186] 4 3 2 3 4 1 1 0 0 4 0 4 4 0 2

Example

> x1[order(factor(x1,levels=c(3,1,0,4,2)))]

Output

[1] 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
[38] 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
[75] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
[112] 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
[149] 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
[186] 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Example2

Live Demo

> x2<-sample(1:4,300,replace=T)
> x2

Output

[1] 1 2 3 4 4 3 2 1 4 3 4 1 1 2 3 1 1 3 3 4 2 3 3 2 2 4 1 3 2 2 3 1 4 4 3 2 1
[38] 3 2 4 3 1 2 4 4 3 4 1 1 1 4 2 4 3 1 4 4 3 1 3 3 3 4 4 1 3 4 4 1 3 3 3 1 1
[75] 1 2 3 1 4 1 2 4 1 1 4 1 1 4 1 1 1 4 2 1 2 1 3 4 4 1 3 3 4 4 4 3 1 4 1 1 3
[112] 4 3 2 2 3 2 3 4 4 2 3 4 3 2 2 2 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 4 1 2 1 2 2 1
[149] 4 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 1 1 2 3 4 2 2 2 1 1 3 1 1 3 3 2 1 2 4 2 1 1 3 1 3 1 3 3
[186] 3 3 1 4 2 3 3 4 4 3 4 3 1 4 3 2 4 4 2 3 1 3 3 2 3 4 4 1 4 4 3 4 1 3 1 4 2
[223] 2 2 4 1 4 1 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 4 1 1 2 1 1 4 4 4 1 4 3 2 1 1 4 3 4 3 2 3 2 4 3
[260] 3 4 4 3 2 2 1 3 3 4 1 2 3 2 3 4 2 1 2 1 3 1 2 3 2 1 4 3 3 1 2 4 2 2 3 2 3
[297] 4 3 4 1

Example

> x2[order(factor(x2,levels=c(3,2,1,4)))]

Output

[1] 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
[38] 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
[75] 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
[112] 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
[149] 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
[186] 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
[223] 1 1 1 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
[260] 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
[297] 4 4 4 4

Example3

Live Demo

> x3<-sample(0:2,300,replace=T)
> x3

Output

[1] 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 1
[38] 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 0 2 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 2 1 2 2 0 2 0 1 0
[75] 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 0 2 2 2 2 0 1 0 1 0 2 2 1 2 0
[112] 0 2 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 0 2 0
[149] 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 0 2
[186] 1 0 2 0 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 0 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 0 0 0 2
[223] 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 2 1 2 1 2 0 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 0 0 2 2
[260] 2 1 1 0 2 2 2 0 1 2 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 0 1 1 1 2 2 1
[297] 1 0 1 0

Example

> x3[order(factor(x3,levels=c(2,0,1)))]

Output

[1] 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
[38] 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
[75] 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
[112] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
[149] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
[186] 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
[223] 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
[260] 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
[297] 1 1 1 1

Example4

Live Demo

> x4<-sample(1:10,300,replace=T)
> x4

Output

[1] 7 6 4 4 5 4 4 5 8 7 10 4 6 8 10 7 6 4 9 5 3 6 2 1 3
[26] 7 10 5 4 4 8 9 8 4 2 6 6 6 4 4 1 6 1 9 9 10 10 7 3 9
[51] 1 4 10 5 1 9 6 2 8 1 10 6 8 10 4 9 5 9 4 5 7 1 8 5 7
[76] 5 6 6 10 8 6 8 7 9 10 6 7 2 9 4 5 7 5 7 4 5 1 9 4 6
[101] 9 1 3 3 9 5 1 8 1 3 10 4 3 6 10 3 1 3 10 5 6 5 8 3 9
[126] 8 5 10 7 3 6 6 1 5 10 1 6 3 4 10 6 9 1 10 1 1 1 1 4 3
[151] 2 6 1 6 2 5 5 7 8 10 5 5 1 9 10 10 3 6 10 5 3 4 2 10 9
[176] 2 7 4 3 3 9 3 5 1 3 8 1 5 7 8 9 8 3 5 2 1 7 6 2 9
[201] 9 5 6 7 10 7 3 6 5 2 5 8 1 3 9 1 5 10 7 3 9 3 3 7 3
[226] 2 7 3 8 1 6 2 8 3 3 9 8 10 3 10 10 8 8 2 6 9 7 3 6 6
[251] 10 9 4 2 9 8 10 7 10 2 1 8 10 10 7 2 10 8 2 5 10 4 10 8 9
[276] 1 9 4 10 4 1 2 7 1 9 2 5 3 5 3 6 9 9 6 8 7 10 5 6 9

Example

> x4[order(factor(x4,levels=c(2,4,6,8,10,1,3,5,7,9)))]

Output

[1] 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 4
[26] 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 6 6
[51] 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
[76] 6 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
[101] 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
[126] 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 1 1 1 1 1 1
[151] 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
[176] 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
[201] 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
[226] 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
[251] 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
[276] 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

Example5

Live Demo

> x5<-sample(21:25,200,replace=T)
> x5

Output

[1] 25 22 25 24 24 25 24 24 22 22 25 25 24 21 21 24 24 24 25 22 24 22 25 22 24
[26] 21 24 24 21 21 25 22 23 21 21 22 23 22 22 25 23 25 22 21 22 25 24 25 21 24
[51] 23 21 22 22 24 24 24 24 25 24 23 21 25 24 22 23 23 24 25 21 23 23 21 25 22
[76] 23 21 25 23 21 23 21 25 24 22 24 22 22 21 21 21 24 22 25 23 22 23 24 24 22
[101] 23 21 24 25 24 22 25 25 22 22 22 25 25 22 24 25 22 22 24 23 23 21 22 25 25
[126] 21 24 23 25 25 23 22 21 21 22 24 24 24 25 24 24 22 23 22 21 23 21 24 25 23
[151] 25 22 21 25 25 23 23 23 24 21 24 22 21 22 24 25 22 24 23 22 25 24 23 23 24
[176] 25 24 25 23 23 21 22 22 24 21 22 24 21 22 22 24 24 25 24 21 22 25 23 23 22

Example

> x5[order(factor(x5,levels=c(25,24,21,22,23)))]

Output

[1] 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25
[26] 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24
[51] 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24
[76] 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21
[101] 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 22 22 22
[126] 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22
[151] 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 23 23 23 23 23 23 23
[176] 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23

Nizamuddin Siddiqui

Updated on: 05-Mar-2021

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