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One of the major reasons people use Excel is because of its ability to easily sort and manipulate data. Alphabetization is a particularly important skill to learn, because it makes it easier to locate the information you need on any spreadsheet. In this article, we will guide you through the process of learning how to alphabetize in Excel.
How to Alphabetize in Excel for a Single Column in 5 Easy Steps
This method uses the QuickSort feature on Excel, and it works very well when you want to sort all of your rows by alphabetizing a single column.
- Open your Excel document, if it is not already open.
- Select at least one cell in the column that you want to sort everything by.
- Select the “Data” tab located at the top of Excel.
- Look for the sorting icons that look like an A and a Z with an arrow next to it.
- Press the button with the A on the top to sort from A to Z or press the button with the Z on the top to sort from Z to A.
How to Alphabetize in Excel for Multiple Columns in 8 Easy Steps
This slightly more complicated method uses the Advanced Sort settings to alphabetize a row based on one column, and then further sort rows in the same category by alphabetizing other columns.
- Open the Excel document that you want to sort.
- Highlight all of the columns and rows that you want to sort.
- Click the “Data” tab and then pick the big “Sort” icon that looks like a box filled with multiple Z’s and A’s.
- Pick the name of the column you want to alphabetize first, and choose “A to Z” or “Z to A” as the order to sort by.
- Click the “Add Level” button in the upper lefthand corner to create another level of sorting.
- Pick the column you want to be alphabetized second and then pick your sorting order again.
- Continue until you have selected all columns that you want to alphabetize further.
- Click the “OK” button.
Make sure you do not have any data sets with blank rows, or this can lead to an error where only rows above the blank row are alphabetized. For more help with alphabetizing items in Excel, check out their informative help articles or contact Microsoft Office support.
