Problems with sorting alphabetically in ExcelĮxcel sort features are amazing, but if you are working with an imperfectly structured data, things may go terribly wrong.
In the other two boxes, the default values will do just fine, so we keep them ( Cell Values in the Sort on box, and A to Z in the Order box), and click OK:Īs the result, the first row in our table is sorted in alphabetical order, and the rest of the data is rearranged accordingly, preserving all correlations between the entries: From the Sort by drop-down list, select the row number you want to alphabetize (Row 1 in this example).In the small Sort Options dialog that appears, select Sort left to right, and click OK to get back to the Sort.In the Sort dialog box, click the Options.Go to the Data tab > Sort and Filter group, and click Sort:.If your table has row labels that should not be moved, be sure to leave them out. This can also be done by using the Excel Sort feature. If your data is arranged horizontally, you may want to sort it alphabetically across rows. As shown in the screenshot below, our table is arranged alphabetically exactly as it should: first by Region, and then by Name: Add more sort levels if needed, and click OK.Įxcel will sort your data in the specified order.In this case, you will only have to choose a different column in the first box. If you are sorting by multiple columns with the same criteria, click Copy Level instead of Add Level. In the other two boxes, leave the default settings: Sort On - Cell values and Order - A to Z: In the Sort by dropdown box, select the column you want to alphabetize first, Region in our case. The Sort dialog box will show up with the first sorting level created for you automatically as Excel sees fit.On the Data tab, in the Sort & Filter group, click the Sort.In most cases, you can select just one cell and Excel will pick the rest of your data automatically, but this is an error-prone approach, especially when there are some gaps (blank cells) within your data. Select the entire table you want to sort.To have it done, please perform the following steps:
In case you want to alphabetize data in several columns, use the Excel Sort command, which gives more control over how your data is sorted.Īs an example, let's add one more column to our dataset, and then arrange the entries alphabetically first by Region, and then by Name:
How to put multiple columns in alphabetical order To remove the filter, simply click the Filter button again. To reverse the order, select Sort Z to A from the filter drop-down menu. The column is alphabetized straight away, and a small upward arrow on the filter button indicates the sorting order (ascending): Click the drop-down arrow for the column you want to put in alphabetical order, and select Sort A to Z:
In this tutorial, a "table" is just any data set. The same buttons can also be accessed from Home tab > Editing group > Sort and Filter:Įither way, Excel will alphabetize your list instantaneously: On the Data tab, in the Sort and Filter group, click either A-Z to sort ascending or Z-A to sort descending.Select any cell in the column you want to sort.The fastest way to sort alphabetically in Excel is this: Below you will find the detailed guidance on each method. Overall, there are 3 main ways to sort alphabetically in Excel: A-Z or Z-A button, the Sort feature, and filter.