Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Performing Complex Sorts.

Performing Complex Sorts

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated November 28, 2015)

1

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.

  1. Display the Data tab of the ribbon.
  2. Click the Sort tool. Excel displays the Sort dialog box. Using this dialog box, sorting is performed according to criteria you set. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Sort dialog box.

  3. Use the Sort By drop-down to select the field (or column) by which you want to sort.
  4. Click Add Level each time you want to specify a secondary sorting key.
  5. Specify for each sorting key whether you want that field to be sorted in ascending or descending order.
  6. Click the Options button to display the Sort Options dialog box where you can specify whether you want capitalization to matter and whether you want to sort rows or columns. (See Figure 2.)

    7. Figure 2. The Sort Options dialog box.

  7. Click on OK to close the Sort Options dialog box.
  8. Click on OK to complete your sort.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (7216) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Performing Complex Sorts.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Understanding Views

Want to see how your document will look before it's printed? Or, do you want to see what things will look like if you put ...

Discover More

Seeing Where Bookmarks Are

Bookmarks can be great for referencing and finding portions of your document. If you want to easily see where the ...

Discover More

Too Many Cell Formats

The error message "too many cell formats" can be difficult to fix. This tip describes ways you can attempt to get rid of ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Incorrect Links after Sorting Hyperlinks

When you sort your data you should always check to see if the sort was done correctly. What if sorting messes up ...

Discover More

Incomplete and Corrupt Sorting

Using the sorting tools, on the toolbar, may result in some unwanted results, such as jumbled data. If this happens to ...

Discover More

Recognizing a Header Row when Sorting

When you sort data in a worksheet, there are a couple ways you can do it. Using the simple way can result in ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 4 + 7?

2015-11-28 17:25:05

Alex B

I normally add a column called Seq (Original Order) that is just a sequential no using data fill.

If the original data is in no logical order, this will let you put it back the way it was if you need to check something.

Also sometimes its useful to have your lowest level sort in the original order.

PS: You can't use previous row + 1, it has to be data fill.

This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.