Understanding Ascending and Descending Sorts

Summary: When you sort information, Excel follows a set pattern of how your data is organized. This tip illuminates the burning question of what ordering Excel uses. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.)

As you might expect from their names, ascending sorts are done such that values increase, while descending sorts result in values decreasing. How does this affect your actual data, however?

If you choose to do an ascending sort, Excel uses the following sorting order:

Number values, from least to greatest
Date and time values, from earliest to latest
Text values, numbers first, then alphabetically (1, 2, 3, a, b, c, and so on)
Logical values, FALSE, then TRUE
Error values

Descending is the opposite of ascending. No matter which order you choose, Excel always places blanks (empty fields) at the end of the final list.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2254) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Organize Your Data! Using the powerful sorting capabilities of Excel can help you get your data into just the order you need. Find out how you can use the full capabilities of sorting to your benefit.

Check out ExcelTips: Serioius Sorting today!

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Understanding Ascending and Descending Sorts