How to Sort in Excel (All You Should Know)

In this article, we will demonstrate some easy methods to sort data in Excel. Sometimes it’s difficult to find data of interest in a random dataset. Sorting data can be helpful to search for desired values in an Excel sheet.

Manually sorting a large worksheet is a tiresome job. Excel provides some useful tools and features that you can use to sort datasets with ease.

Knowing how to sort is essential for data analysis, as it helps you analyze data easily. Sorting can make data more visually appealing and intelligible.

Download Practice Workbook

You can practice on your own by downloading the free Excel worksheet.

Sort.xlsx

How to Sort in Excel (6 Use Cases)

1. Sort in Ascending Order

To sort the dataset in Ascending order according to the Writer Names, select any cell in the Writer column and go to Data Tab > Sort & Filter Group > Sort A to Z.
The dataset is sorted accordingly.

Note: You can also access the Sort & Filter Group by going to Home Tab > Editing Group> Sort & Filter or by clicking the Right-button on the mouse and going to Sort.

2. Descending Sort in Excel

To sort the dataset in descending order according to Quantity Sold, select any cell in the Quantity Sold and go to Data Tab > Sort & Filter Group > Sort Z to A.
You will notice that the dataset is sorted accordingly.

3. Custom Sorting

We have created a column with the heading Characteristics next to the dataset.
The books that have sold more than 25 copies are given the characteristic of Best Seller, the books that have sold more than 15 but less than 25 copies are given the characteristic of Midlist, and the books that have sold less than 15 copies are given the characteristic of Backlist.
We will sort the books according to their Characteristics. To facilitate creating a custom list, we have kept the Characteristics in a separate column.

Go to File > Options > Advanced. Scroll down and find the Edit Custom Lists.

This will bring out the Custom Lists
Click on the Import List button to import the custom list. The list will be shown in the List Entries Click on OK to add the list in the custom list options.

Select any cell in the Characteristics column and go to Data Tab > Sort & Filter Group > Sort.

Select Characteristics as Column Select Custom List from Order.

Select the custom list that we created and click on OK.

Click on OK in the sort window.

The dataset is now sorted according to the custom list that we created.

4. Sorting with Multiple Levels

To sort with multiple levels, go to Data Tab > Sort & Filter Group > Sort.

Select Writer as Column input and the order is A to Z.

Click on Add Level in the top left corner and select Book as Column input and the order is A to Z.
Click on OK to sort the dataset.

The dataset is now sorted according to multiple levels.

Note: You can use this method to sort with multiple rows or columns in Excel.

5. Using Filter to Sort Data

Select any cell in the dataset and go to Data Tab > Sort & Filter Group > Filter. The headers will have a down arrow next to them indicating the filter is on.

Select the down arrow next to the column header by the column you want to sort.
We select Sort Z to A from the Book column down arrow. The dataset is now sorted.

6. Sort by Color

The best-seller books are colored green and the backlist books are colored yellow.
Select any cell from the books column and go to Data Tab > Sort & Filter Group > Sort.
Select Book as Column input and Cell Color as the Sort On option.
Select the color Green in the order panel and from the dropdown list, select On Top to show green colored books on top.

Copy this level by clicking on Copy Level and for the color Yellow, select On Bottom.
Click on OK to sort the dataset.

The dataset is now sorted according to color.

Things to Remember

Make sure there are no blank cells in the column that you want to sort by otherwise, you will get unwanted results.
If the column headers are in the same format as the dataset, they are most likely to end up somewhere in the middle of the sorted data. You can prevent this by selecting only the data without headers.
If there are any merged cells in the dataset, this may lead to unexpected results.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can sort filtered data?

A: Yes you can sort filtered data, it is more easy to sort filtered data than unfiltered data.

If I have any duplicate entries in my dataset, how will Excel sort those?

A: Excel does not sort duplicates in any particular order. The data that occurs first will be shown first after sorting.

Can I sort data in Excel based on cell color?

A: Yes, you can sort data based on cell color by utilizing the custom sort feature.

How to Sort in Excel: Knowledge Hub

Conclusion

We hope you find this article useful in solving your problems regarding sorting in Excel. Sorting is frequently used in Excel to make the dataset visually appealing. Go over the methods described here to get a better understanding of how to sort in Excel.

<< Go Back to Learn Excel

Get FREE Advanced Excel Exercises with Solutions!