How to Sort Rows by Column in Excel (4 Easy Methods)

Method 1 – Use Ascending (A-Z) or Descending (Z-A) Options to Sort Rows by Column in Excel

Method 1.1 – Sort Rows by Column from A-Z (Smallest to Largest)

First, we want to sort rows by column from smallest to largest. We need a data set for that. We can take this picture as a sample. It has column headers as ID Number, Name, Order 1, Order 2, and Order 3.

• Select the Dataset > open your Data tab > go to the “Sort & Filter” ribbon and click this icon

• We can see that the rows are sorted according to the columns.

Method 1.2 – Sorting Rows by Column from Z-A (Largest to Smallest)

• Select the ID Number
• Open your Data tab > go to the Sort & Filter ribbon and click this icon

• Our rows are sorted with respect to the columns.

Read More: How to Sort Data by Row not Column in Excel

Method 2 – Apply a Custom Sorting Method to Sort Rows by Column

Custom sorting is an amazing process of sorting your rows by column. Use the following dataset when applying this method:

Steps:

• Select your data range, go to “Data” and click this icon

• A window named Sort will appear.
• Go to Options.

• Another window will pop up named Sort Options.
• Click on Sort Left to Right.

• In the new window, sort by Row 4, sort on Cell Values and order is Largest to Smallest.
• Click OK.

All columns are now sorted based on the selections you made in the Sort dialog box.

Read More: How to Sort Alphabetically in Excel with Multiple Columns

Method 3 – Use a Multi-level Sorting Method to Sort Rows by Column in Excel

Steps:

• Select your dataset, go to Data, and click this icon

• When the Sort window opens, click on Option.
• Choose Sort Left to Right from the new window.

• On the Sort window, click on Add Level to add another row to the existing sorted row. In the picture below we added two new levels (Row 5, Row 6).
• Customize their style by their values and from Largest to Smallest.
• Click OK.

• Our rows are sorted by their column value.

Read More: How to Sort Multiple Columns in Excel Independently of Each Other

Method 4 – Apply SORT and SORTBY Functions in Excel

Steps:

• Copy the column headers and paste them to the cell where you want to get your sorted values. In this case, it is cell H5.

• Apply the “SORT” function in the H5 cell.

Here,

• “Array” is the selected Range or array to sort. (B5:F16)
• [sort_index] is the Column index to use for sorting. The default is 1. We choose (3)
• [sort_order] where, Ascending=1, Descending = -1. Default is ascending order. We choose (1)
• [by_col] where, sort by column=TRUE , sort by row= FALSE . Default is FALSE. We choose

• Press “ENTER”.
• Our rows are sorted.

• Additionally, if we want to sort ID Number in Ascending order, we need to use the SORTBY function. So, write the following formula in the H5 cell.

• Press ENTER to see that the ID Numbers are sorted in Ascending order.

Read More: How to Sort Alphabetically in Excel and Keep Rows Together

Things to Remember

➤ The “SORT” function is only available for “Excel 365”. You won’t be able to use this function unless you have this version of Excel.

➤ You can auto-sort columns by their value when you use the SORT function.

➤ When sorting, you need to select the header column cell.

➤ When you perform a multi-level custom sorting method, the data will first be sorted by the 1st level, then the 2nd level, and so on.

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Related Articles

• Sorting Columns in Excel While Keeping Rows Together
• Excel Sort by Column Without Header
• How to Sort Column by Value in Excel
• How to Sort Two Columns in Excel to Match
• How to Sort Columns in Excel Without Mixing Data
• How to Sort Multiple Columns in Excel

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