Sort a List
Lists can be sorted by using the toolbar buttons or the menu. Excel will find and sort any data adjacent to the active cell.
To sort by a single column
- Click in a single cell in the column to sort by - for example, click in B1 to sort by column B
- On the Standard toolbar, click Sort Ascending
or Sort Descending
The entire list is selected, and then sorted by the chosen column.
 |
 |
 |
| List prior to sorting |
List after numeric sort in Descending order on column B |
List after alphabetical sort in Ascending order on column A |
To sort a range or a list
Do not select a range before applying a sort (unless that is what you intend to do). If you select a range, only the cells within that range will be sorted. To sort a column, you only need to click in one cell in that column.
If you do select a range, and there is data in columns or rows adjacent to your selection, Excel will warn you that it thinks you might have made a mistake:
Sort Warning dialogue box
- If appropriate, click Expand the selection to select the whole list then click Sort...
Sort Orders
When a list is sorted in ascending order, Excel sorts the list using the following rules. Blank cells always appear at the bottom of the list.
| Data Type |
Ascending Sort Order |
| Numeric |
Smallest negative number to largest positive number. |
| Date/Time |
Earliest date/time to latest date/time. |
| Text |
Sorted left to right, character by character using the following order of precedence:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 (space) ! " # $ % & ( ) * , . / : ; ? @ [ \ ] ^ _ ` { | } ~ + < = >
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Apostrophes and hyphens are ignored unless two cells are identical except for the presence of an apostrophe or hyphen.
For example, Co-ordinator follows Coordinator. |
| Boolean |
FALSE then TRUE. |
The sort orders listed above are reversed in a descending sort. However, blank cells still appear at the bottom of the list, even in a descending sort.
If the range contains mixed data types, it will be sorted in the order shown above (that is, numeric values appear at the top, followed by dates then text and finally Boolean values). If your list contains numbers that should be sorted as text, format the cells as Text first (Format, Cells, Number tab).
To sort by more than one column
- Click in a single cell in any column in the list - do not select more than one cell
- From the Data menu, select Sort...
The Sort dialogue box is displayed.
Sort dialogue box
- Click the pull-down arrow and select a column heading for each sort required
- Click the Ascending or Descending option buttons for each sort selected
- Click OK
Filter a List
Filtering selects and displays only the required records on the screen. Filters can be applied to several columns in succession, reducing the number of records displayed each time. Lists can be sorted before or after filtering, and they print out as they appear on the screen.
To filter a list
Filtering selects only records that meet specific criteria, such as a name, date, or value, and hides the others by setting the row size to 0 (zero). Filter buttons list every different value that can be selected within the column.
- Click anywhere in the list
- From the Data menu, select Filter... then from the submenu select AutoFilter
Filter buttons are displayed on every column in the list.
Filter buttons
- Click a filter button and select a value from the list box
Filter list
The filtered data displays only lines containing the selected item. The filter button turns blue on columns where items are selected.
- Repeat for each column to select from
