How to Remove Sort by Color in Excel (With Easy Steps)

The sorting facility is a highly useful feature in Excel. Sorting helps us to handle easily large data sets in Excel. However, there is no ‘unsort’ or reset sort option in Excel. Even, clearing the sort state for the current range of data will not restore the data table to its original/initial sort order. In this article, you will learn an effective way to remove sorting by color in Excel.

How to Remove Sort by Color in Excel (With Easy Steps)

Sometimes, we have a data set that does not have a column of consecutive numbers. In this case, if we sort one or more columns, then it could be difficult or impossible to revert back to the original sorting. To get rid of this issue, we need to add a column of consecutive numbers to our sample data set. Our sample dataset is given below.

Step-1: Add an Extra ‘Index’ Column

Before applying any kind of color sorting, we want to set up the index column. For this, just follow the steps below to set up an Index Column.

• Write a 1 in a blank cell of the Index column to the right of the data set.
• Drag the Fill Handle to the remaining cells of the column.

• Select Fill Series from the Autofill Option.

Here is the Index Column,

Step-2: Sort Data by Color

Now, we will sort our dataset by cell color.

• Select the entire table> go to the Data tab> the Sort & Filter group > Click on the Sort button.

• A Sort window will pop up. Mark the My data has headers checkbox at the top-right corner.
• Next, to Sort by, click the drop-down arrow and select the column header (In this case, Revenue) that you want to sort by the colors of the cells of that column. Similarly, for Sort on values, select Cell Colors. And for Order, select your first cell color Red. Finally, keep the Order value as On Top.

• By clicking on Add level in the top-left, add your other color levels.

• Click OK and Excel will sort the dataset by color.

Step-3: Remove Sort

Now, we want to restore our dataset to our previous sort. To do this, just follow the steps below.

• Select the entire table > Go to the Data tab > From the Sort & Filter group, click on the Sort button. A Sort window will pop up.
• Delete the previous levels. Press OK.

• Again, select the entire table. Go to Data tab> Sort. Under the Sort window, select Index, Cell values, and Smaller to Largest for the Column, Sort On, and Order box respectively. Click Ok.

Here is the restored previous sorting dataset,

Read More: How to Undo Sort in Excel

Download Practice Book

Download the following Excel file for your practice.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, I have discussed an effective way to remove sort by color in Excel. I hope you found this article helpful. You can visit our website Exceldemy to learn more Excel-related content. Please, drop comments, suggestions, or queries if you have any in the comment section below.

<< Go Back to Remove Sort | Sort in Excel | Learn Excel