How to sort data in a report

Hi,

I am using Business Objects XI 3.1 and I've searched for a way to define a sort on a given query. The data I want to sort is alphanumeric and, if I try to sort it in Oracle I get the order I want. However, in Web Intelligence I have no choice on how to do this. All I could find was to define a custom sort that is not persistent i.e., when I purge my results my defined custom sort gets flushed. How can I achive this?

Also, is it possible to sort the data in a chart? I mean, is it possible to define an order by which data should be displayed along the X axis?

Thanks in advance to any contributions you might give.