SQL - order result set when using union

When using union all, how can I order result set of how it gets displayed?  For example

Right now it returned

Descripton    SalesType        Customercode  Jan      Feb       Mar       Apr      May      Jun      Jul      Aug      Oct      Nov      Dec      Total
Sale            Direct             1             $          $      $
Manager            Resell             1             $          $      $
Inter            Extr             1             $          $      $
Exter            EU             1             $          $      $

I want to return like or any order of result set

Descripton    SalesType        Customercode  Jan      Feb       Mar       Apr      May      Jun      Jul      Aug      Oct      Nov      Dec      Total


Inter            Extr             1             $          $      $
Exter            EU             1             $          $      $
Manager            Resell             1             $          $      $
Sale            Direct             1             $          $      $


Table sample

column names

Descripton    SalesType        Customercode  Jan      Feb       Mar       Apr      May      Jun      Jul      Aug      Oct      Nov      Dec      Total


select *from
(
select * from #temp_table1
union all
select * from #temp_table2
union all
select * from #temp_table3
union all
select * from #temp_table4


a group by Descripton,SalesType,Customercode,Jan,Feb ,Mar Apr,May,Jun,Jul,Aug,Oct,Nov,Dec,Total
jagr12Asked:
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Jim HornMicrosoft SQL Server Developer, Architect, and AuthorCommented:
To pull off a customized ordering you'll need to include an ORDER BY with a CASE block, like this..
<total air code, look at the last line>
select * from (
   select * from #temp_table1
   union all 
   select * from #temp_table2
   union all 
   select * from #temp_table3
   union all 
   select * from #temp_table4) a
group by Descripton,SalesType,Customercode,Jan,Feb ,Mar Apr,May,Jun,Jul,Aug,Oct,Nov,Dec,Total
ORDER BY CASE Descripton 
   WHEN 'Inter' THEN 1 
   WHEN 'Exter' THEN 2 
   WHEN 'Manager' THEN 3 
   WHEN 'Sale' THEN 4 
   ELSE 5 END

Open in new window


For a tutorial on CASE blocks check out SQL Server CASE Solutions.
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jagr12Author Commented:
Jim,
Thank you very much. This is exactly what I need.
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Microsoft SQL Server 2008

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