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: Ignoring Selected Words when Sorting.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 29, 2018)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Arn has a need to exclude certain words when sorting a column. For instance, he is trying to exclude 'The' when sorting a list of movie titles, so that "Alpha, Charlie, The Bravo" would sort as "Alpha, The Bravo, Charlie."
There is no built-in way to do this. The best solution is to set up an intermediate column for your data. This column can contain the modified movie titles, and you can sort by the contents of the column. For instance, if column A contains your original movie titles, you could fill column B with formulas, such as this:
=IF(LEFT(A1,4)="The ",MID(A1,5,LEN(A1)-4),A1)
This formula will strip the word "The" (with its trailing space) from the start of the line. If you want to add the word "The" at the end of the string, then you could modify the formula in the following manner:
=IF(LEFT(A1,4)="The ",MID(A1,5,50),A1) & ", The"
If you wanted to delete all instances of the word "the" without regard to where it appeared in the title, you could use the following instead:
=SUBSTITUTE(A1,"the ","")
Sorting, again, would be done by the results shown in column B. This will give the list in the desired order.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3892) 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: Ignoring Selected Words when Sorting.
Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!
When formatting the layout of your worksheet, Excel allows you to easily merge adjacent cells together. This can cause ...
Discover MoreNeed to sort your data based on the color of the cell? Excel doesn't include this capability, but you can still do the ...
Discover MoreProtect a worksheet and you limit exactly what can be done with the data in the worksheet. One of the things that could ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2020-02-11 10:02:20
Sir Owns
Would love to be able to ignore "The" in a sort without stripping it.
2019-01-16 03:42:52
Jeff
=IF(LEFT(A1,4)="The ",MID(A1,5,50),A1) & ", The"
Adds the word "The" to everything.
Should be
=IF(LEFT(A1,4)="The ",MID(A1,5,50) & ", The", A1)
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 © 2025 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