[Fix] Excel Sort by Date Not Working (2 Causes with Solutions)

Problem:

Consider the following dataset containing some dates. We will try to sort the dates.

After applying the sort command, we get the following results:

The dates aren’t accurately sorted from most recent to the oldest accurately.

From the Home tab, view the data type.

The selected data are in text format. As a result, sorting doesn’t work properly.

The following two methods solve this problem so you can sort by date.

Method 1 – Change the Cell Format to Sort Date

Step 1:

• Select all the cells.
• Press the right mouse button.
• Choose Format Cells from the options.
• You can also go to the Format Cells option by using the keyboard shortcut CTRL + 1
• Alternatively, find the Format Cells option in the Number group in the Home tab of the Excel ribbon.

Step 2:

• Choose a date format from the Format Cells dialog box.
• Press OK.

Step 3:

• Modify the dates from the data cells. Insert 0 with single-digit months.
• Select all the cells containing a date.
• Go to the Data tab.
• Choose Newest to Oldest from the Sort and Filter group.

Check the below image and you’ll see dates sorted from latest to oldest.

Read More: [Solved!] Excel Sort Not Working

Method 2 – Use the Text to Columns Feature to Sort Date in Excel

Step 1:

• Select all the cells.
• Go to the Data tab.
• From the Data Tools group, choose Text to Columns.

Step 2:

• A dialog box named Convert Text to Columns Wizard will appear. Choose Delimited.
• Press Next.

Step 3:

• Select Next in the new dialog box.

Step 4:

• In the last dialog box, choose Date as the Column data format.
• Select a date format, such as the MDY option.
• Click Finish.

Step 5:

• Select all the data cells to apply the sort operation.
• Go to the Data tab and choose the Newest to Oldest option.

The following images shows the date sorting has been executed correctly.

Read More: [Fixed!] Sort and Filter Not Working in Excel

Things to Remember

• Always follow your chosen date formatting when inputting a date.
• Do not mix up time with dates.
• Carefully check if there is an error in the month and day values.

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