Sort in Excel

Sort in Excel

Sorting function in MS Excel, allows the use to arrange the data on one or more columns in either ascending or descending order. In ascending order, the data will be sorted from smaller to bigger also called as A to Z order whereas in descending order, the data will be sorted from bigger to smaller also called as Z to A order.

One Column

To apply sorting on single column, follow the following steps.

1. Click any cell in the desired column you want to sort.

One Column

2. Goto Data tab and select from ascending or descending order (whichever you desire). In this example Ascending order has been applied (i.e. AZ).

Ascending order

The data is sorted from smaller to bigger order as shown in the figure below.

smaller to bigger

To sort in descending order, click ZA.

Multiple Columns

To apply sorting on multiple columns, follow the following steps.

1. Goto the Data tab and click Sort.

click Sort

2. In the Sort dialog box, select Last Name from the ‘Sort by’ drop-down list.

Sort by

3. Click on “Add Level”.

4. Select Country from the “Then by” drop-down list as shown in the figure below.

Then by

5. Click OK.

All the data will be sorted by Last Name first and then by Country as shown in the figure below.

Last Name first and then by Country