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About this lesson
Learn to sort data in Excel by a single column or by multiple columns.
Lesson versions
Multiple versions of this lesson are available, choose the appropriate version for you:
Exercise files
Download the ‘before’ and ‘after’ Excel workbooks from the video tutorial and try the lesson yourself.
Sorting.xlsx26.8 KB Sorting - Completed.xlsx
25.9 KB
Quick reference
Sorting
Sorting data in Excel by a single column, or by multiple columns.
When to use
Knowledge of how to use Excel’s sorting feature can be essential for presenting your data in an easy to read format.
Instructions
Preparing your data for sorting
- Make certain that your data is in tabular format
- It is essential that there be no blank rows or columns interrupting the data that you wanted sorted
- While not essential, it is certainly preferable to have a clear header row for your data
Single level sorts
- Select any cell inside your data table (or the entire range you want to sort)
- Go to Data > Sort
- Configure the way you’d like it sorted, then click OK
Multiple level sorts
- Multi-level sorts allow you to sort by one column, then use another column to sort ties
- Select any cell inside your data table (or the entire range you want to sort)
- Go to Data > Sort
- Configure the primary sort the way you’d like to see it
- Click Add Level
- Configure the secondary sort the way you’d like to sort the ties
- You can continue to add as many sorting levels as you need
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