Specifying a Multi-Level Sort

By using the sorting capabilities of Excel you can perform complex sorting of either an entire list or any portion of a list. If you want to sort an entire list, you only need to select a single cell within the list. If you want to sort a portion of a list, you need to select those rows (they must be contiguous) that you want sorted.

1. Display the Data tab of the ribbon.
2. Click the Sort tool. Excel displays the Sort dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.) Using this dialog box, sorting is performed according to criteria you set.
3. Use the Sort By drop-down to select the field (or column) by which you want to sort.
4. Click Add Level each time you want to specify a secondary sorting key.
5. Specify for each sorting key whether you want that field to be sorted in ascending or descending order.
6. Click the Options button to display the Sort Options dialog box where you can specify whether you want capitalization to matter and whether you want to sort rows or columns. (Click here to see a related figure.)
7. Click on OK to close the Sort Options dialog box.
8. Click on OK to complete your sort.

The First Key Sort Order option probably needs explanation. You will rarely need to change the value of this field. There will be times, however, when you will want to make changes. For instance, your primary sorting key might contain days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and so on), and you want them to sort in proper chronological order. This is one of the sort orders you can specify in this field. You should pick a First Key Sort Order that most closely matches the needs of your data.