Sort Excel spreadsheet automatically - this is how to do it!

The Excel spreadsheet programme – for example Microsoft Excel 2010 in Microsoft Office 365 – is incredibly versatile. The most important function is probably the creation of tables. But depending on the volume of data, this can quickly become quite confusing. To prevent this, it makes sense to let the programme sort the Excel table. There are various options available, which we will explain in more detail here.

Why should you sort an Excel table?

For a good analysis of data, it is necessary to be able to sort them in an Excel table. In Microsoft Excel 2010, various sorting options are available, such as sorting Excel rows or sorting Excel columns. A finer sorting of individual data is also possible. For example, data can be sorted by numbers, by date and time, by format or alphabetically in order to visually capture and understand data more quickly and to organise it effectively.

Sort Excel rows

If you want to sort an Excel table, you often start by sorting Excel rows. This can be done easily in just four steps:

  1. In an open Excel document, switch to the „Data“ tab and click on the „Sort“ button.
  2. A new window appears, select „Options“.
  3. Next, click on the option „Sort rows“ under „Alignment“ and then confirm with „OK“.
  4. Under „Column“, select a named column for sorting Excel rows and, if necessary, under „Order“, select which value is to be used for sorting the Excel table. Then press „OK“.

Sort Excel columns

  • First select the range you want Excel to sort.
  • You can now access the sort dialogue via the „Data – Sort“ tab.
  • In the „Sort“ dialogue box in Microsoft Excel 2010, select the option „Data“ in the „Sort and Filter“ group.
  • In the „Sort“ window click on „Options“, activate „Sort columns“ in the next dialogue box.
  • In the drop-down menu under „Row“ now select the row according to which Excel should sort columns and confirm with „OK“.

Sort Excel spreadsheet alphabetically

If, for example, you are dealing with staff or member lists, you can also sort an Excel table alphabetically to improve clarity. The following steps are necessary for this:

  • Select the table that Excel is to sort alphabetically. Do not mark the headings of the columns and rows!
  • Select the option „Sort“ in the „Data“ menu.
  • In the window, select the column that is to sort the Excel table and click on the corresponding option under „Order“.
  • Confirm with „OK“.

This is also possible: Move Excel table

Normally, Microsoft Excel 2010 takes over all data including formulas and values and formats when rows and columns are moved or copied. However, the cell reference is not adjusted in the case of a formula in the cell – an error message appears in the moved or copied cell. If this happens, the references must be re-entered manually. Otherwise, however, all columns and rows can be easily moved in an Excel table with the following steps. The simplest way:

  • First select the cell, row or column to be moved or copied.
  • Now select either „Cut“ or „Copy“ on the „Start“ tab. The key combinations „CTRL+X“ for cutting and „CTRL+C“ for copying are quicker.
  • Click with the right mouse button below or to the right of the new position of a cell or column.
  • To move, click on „Paste cut cells“.
  • To copy, click on „Paste copied cells“. The shortcut via the keys for this is „CTRL+V“.

Move the Excel table with the mouse

If you prefer to use the mouse to sort the Excel table, proceed as follows:

  • Select a column or row to move or copy
  • Move: Move the cursor to the edge of the selected rows or columns until it turns into a move pointer. Hold the mouse button and drag selected elements to the new position.
  • Copy: Hold down the CTRL key and move the cursor to the edge of the selection. When the copy pointer (white arrow) appears, drag the selection to the new position. It is essential to keep the CTRL key pressed!

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