Sort in Excel

Sorting helps you quickly filter and arrange data. It’s easy to do with a spreadsheet. Let’s learn how to sort in Microsoft Excel.

How to Sort a Column in Microsoft Excel

Excel offers a variety of sorting options to process data. With a few clicks, you can sort alphabetically, in numerical order, and more. You can also sort by multiple conditions, letting you take a deeper dive into your dataset.

Consider a list of names. You might want to quickly sort them alphabetically. Click into the column, then find the Sort & Filter dropdown on Excel’s Home tab. Open it up.

You’ll see three options: Sort A to Z, Sort Z to A, and Custom Sort. To alphabetize, go ahead and click on Sort A to Z. Instantly, Excel will alphabetize your list.

If you’re working with a numerical dataset, those options default to Sort Smallest to Largest and Sort Largest to Smallest. 

How to Sort Multiple Columns in Microsoft Excel

Now, imagine a list of data like this. As you can see, it lists sales prices in multiple countries. You want to group the list by country, and then look at the sales in order of largest to smallest.

With a cell in the range selected, click on Sort & Filter again, this time choosing Custom Sort. First, you’ll want to sort by Country.Sort On defaults to Values, and to alphabetize, you’ll want to choose A to Z under Order. 

Next, click on the + icon in the lower left corner of the menu. This is the second sorting condition. Here, you’ll want Sales Price,Sort On: Values, and Order: Largest to Smallest.

When you’re finished, click OK. Watch as Excel alphabetizes the countries, and then groups the sales prices from largest to smallest.

As you can see, it’s easy to sort data in Excel, even with multiple conditions.