Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Incomplete and Corrupt Sorting.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 10, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
The sorting capabilities of Excel are quite handy and quite powerful. The different ways you sort information has been covered in quite a few different issues of ExcelTips. What happens, however, if you try to sort something and Excel omits some columns from the sort and otherwise scrambles your data?
The most common cause for this problem is that Excel isn't recognizing all your data. If you select a single cell in the data table, and then click on either the Sort Ascending or Sort Descending tool, Excel makes its best guess as to what data you want sorted. It may not always make a perfect guess, particularly if there are blank columns, blank rows, or large empty ranges in the data.
One way to see if this is the real problem is to press Ctrl+Shift+* (that's an asterisk). This shortcut selects the "region" around the current cell. Essentially, when you start a sort from a single cell, Excel initiates this command before doing the actual sort. If you press Ctrl+Shift+* first, you can get an idea of exactly which columns and rows Excel will sort.
To make sure there is no confusion in what Excel actually sorts, all you need to do is select the range of columns and rows that you want sorted, and then do the sort.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2355) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Incomplete and Corrupt Sorting.
Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!
Sorting by dates is easy, and you end up with a list that is in chronological order. However, things become a bit more ...
Discover MoreIf you need to know how a range of data is sorted, the task is not as easy as you might at first think. This tip examines ...
Discover MoreNeed to sort all the data in a table? Here's the fastest and easiest way to do it.
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2022 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here:
Comments