Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 18, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
By using the sorting capabilities of Excel, you can perform complex sorting of either an entire list or any portion of a list. If you want to sort an entire list, you only need to select a single cell within the list. If you want to sort a portion of a list, you need to select those rows (they must be contiguous) that you want sorted.
Figure 1. The Sort dialog box.
Figure 2. The Sort Options dialog box.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (7216) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Performing Complex Sorts.
Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!
If you use Excel to maintain a list of text strings (such as movie, book, or product titles), you may want the program to ...
Discover MoreSorting ZIP Codes can be painless, provided all the codes are formatted the same. Here's how to do the sorting if you ...
Discover MoreSorting is one of the basic operations done in a worksheet. If your sorting won't work and you instead get an error ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments