Sorting Data

EasySpreadsheet can sort rows and columns of data in your sheet, allowing you to create a database of sorts.

Use one sheet for each list you want to create. Each row (or column) of the sheet will effectively be a record. You can enter the various fields for each record in the cells of the row (or column). Be careful not to include any blank rows or columns in the middle of your list.

The following table will be used as an example. As shown, the records are arranged in rows.

 

A

B

C

1

Vehicle

Year

Color

2

 

 

 

3

car

1981

red

4

truck

1980

black

5

car

1970

black

6

car

1981

silver

7

van

1977

red

8

truck

1975

blue

9

car

1981

blue

To sort your list:

  1. Select the data that you want to sort. This can be your entire sheet, or only part of the sheet. Cells that are not selected will not be sorted, even if they are in the same rows or columns of the selected cells. (For help on selecting cells, see Selecting Cells or Selecting Columns and Rows.)

Note: Only one column or row will be used to sort at a time. If in the above table, you select cells A3 to C9 and sort by rows, then each column of data will not be sorted separately. Each row of data (from column A to column C) is considered a record. If you sort by Vehicle, then the Year and Color data for each record will be shifted accordingly. However, if you select only cells A3 to A9 and sort by Vehicle, then the Year and Color data will not be shifted.

  1. Go to the Data menu, and click Sort.

  2. A Sort window will appear.

  3. Under Sort By, choose to have your data sorted by rows or by columns. Data is most often sorted row-by-row. However, you may prefer to have your data sorted column-by-column.

  4. Choose to sort your data in Ascending order (1, 2, 3 and A, B, C) or Descending order (3, 2, 1 and C, B, A).

  5. Enter a cell reference in the Key Reference box:

  1. Data can be sorted by multiple keys. For a multi-leveled sort, select a key from the Keys box, and enter a cell reference

For example, perhaps you want to sort the above table by Vehicle, then by Year, and then by Color. To do so:

  1. Before sorting, ensure that you have selected cells A3 through C9.

  2. Key 1 appears the in Keys box. Type A3 in the Key Reference box to use column A to sort. This is the first level of the sort.

  3. Select Key 2 from the Keys box. Type B3 in the Key Reference box to use column B to sort. This is the second level of the sort.

  4. Select Key 3 from the Keys box. Type C3 in the Key Reference box to use column C to sort. This is the third level of the sort.

The following table will result. As shown, the records will be sorted by Vehicle, then by Year, and then by Color.

 

A

B

C

1

Vehicle

Year

Color

2

 

 

 

3

car

1970

black

4

car

1981

blue

5

car

1981

red

6

car

1981

silver

7

truck

1975

blue

8

truck

1980

black

9

van

1977

red

  1. When you are done, click OK.

 

Sorting in Advanced Mode

To quickly sort your data by rows in Advanced Mode:

  1. Select the cells you want to sort.

  2. To sort in ascending order (1, 2, 3 and A, B, C), click the Sort Ascending icon.

To sort in descending order (3, 2, 1 and C, B, A), click the Sort Descending icon.

 

  1. The data you selected will be sorted by rows. The left-most column of your selected cells will automatically be used to sort the data.