Query languages allow the sorting of data by related fields that are not necessarily in the Search criteria in the query and the values in the field sorted on aren't necessarily required to be in the report for one or more reasons (space, relevance, internal number used for sorting like Aha Rank!).
Today we have delivered powerful new sorting capabilities for pivot tables, charts, and custom roadmaps. You can now build the perfect report and organize the view exactly how you need it. Check out the blog post for more details.
I really like and support the logic of the OP that list sort order and field display are akin to query languages which allow sorting by fields not included in the actual listing of data.
absolutely support this Idea, and as a matter of fact, there are three different Ideas (including this one) for the same function/feature that are being tracked separately that should be merged so the votes can add up.
https://big.ideas.aha.io/ideas/A-I-8925
https://big.ideas.aha.io/ideas/A-I-10527