Sorting by Columns

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 2, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Most sorting in Excel is done by row, meaning that you order the rows based on the contents of a particular column in the information being sorted. At times you may have a need to change the orientation of your sorting, meaning you need to sort columns based on the contents of a particular row.

Excel makes sorting by column easy, although it is not particularly intuitive. Simply follow these steps:

  1. Select the range of cells you want to sort. Make sure you select the column headers in the range.
  2. Choose the Sort option from the Data menu. Excel displays the Sort dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Sort dialog box.

  3. Click on the Options button. Excel displays the Sort Options dialog box. (See Figure 2.)

    4. Figure 2. The Sort Options dialog box.

  4. Choose the Sort Left to Right option button.
  5. Click on OK to close the Sort Options dialog box.
  6. Click on OK to sort your data.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2709) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Copying the Results of Filtering

Filtering is a great asset when you need to get a handle on a subset of your data. Excel even makes it easy to copy the ...

Discover More

Following a Number with Different Characters

When creating numbered lists, the normal characters that follow the number are a period and a tab. Here's how to force ...

Discover More

Segregating Numbers According to Their Sign

Remember your number line from your early years in school? Some numbers can be below zero (negative numbers) and others ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Sorting Dates by Month

Sorting by dates is easy, and you end up with a list that is in chronological order. However, things become a bit more ...

Discover More

Fixing Odd Sorting Behavior

When you sort data that contains both numbers and text, you may not get exactly the result that you expected. To know ...

Discover More

Too Many Formats when Sorting

Sorting is one of the basic operations done in a worksheet. If your sorting won't work and you instead get an error ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 5 + 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.