When you click the sort & filter button on the home tab, data will be sorted in

When you have finished entering your data into your spreadsheet, you may want to sort the data so that it is easier to view and search. For example, you can put a list of names in alphabetical order, or order number entries in numerical order. You can sort data in a column either in ascending or descending order.

To sort data in a column:

1. StepsActions
2. Select the column you want to sort by clicking the column letter.
3. Click the Home tab.
4. Click the Sort and Filter button from the Editing group.
5. Click 
   
   if you want to order the data in ascending order, or click 
   
    if you want to order the data in descending order.

Complex Sorts

You may need to sort your data by more than one column. For example, if you have assigned team projects to your undergraduate class, you could have a column for the project names and a column for the student names, as shown below.

You can first sort all the student names into the project groups, and then put the student names in alphabetical order within each project group. To sort by multiple columns:

1. StepsActions
2. Select all the columns that you want to sort.
3. Click the Home tab.
4. In the Editing group, click Sort & Filter.
5. Click Custom Sort. The Sort dialog box opens.
6. From the Column dropdown menu, select the first column you want to sort.
7. From the Order dropdown menu, select A to Z if you want to sort in ascending order, or Z to A if you want to sort in descending order.
8. You will now need to add new levels for the remaining columns you want to sort. You can add a new level by clicking the Add Level button, and choosing which level you want to sort from the Then by dropdown menu.
9. Enter the columns and values for each of the columns you want to sort.
10. Click OK.

Autofill

The Autofill feature allows you to quickly fill cells with repetitive or sequential data such as repeated text, or chronological dates and numbers.

Autofill Dates

To autofill a sequential series of dates:

1. StepsActions
2. Enter the first date of the series into a cell.
3. Click the handle in the bottom-right corner of the cell and drag it down as many cells as you want to fill.

Autofill Numbers

To autofill a sequential series of numbers:

1. StepsActions
2. Enter the first number of the series into a cell.
3. Enter the second number of the series into the adjacent cell.
4. Select both cells by clicking and dragging the mouse over them.
5. Click the handle in the bottom-right corner of the second cell and drag it over as many cells as you want to fill.

To autofill the same number or text into a column or row of cells:

1. StepsActions
2. Enter the number or text into a cell.
3. Click the handle in the bottom-right corner of the cell and drag it over as many cells as you want to fill.

Alternating Text and Numbers with Autofill

You can use the autofill feature to fill multiple cells at once. For example, to make a repeating list of the days of the week, type the seven days into seven adjacent cells in a column or row. Highlight the seven cells, click the handle in the bottom-right of the last cell, and drag it over as many cells as you want to fill.

Autofill Functions

Autofill can be used to copy functions. In the example below, column A and column B contain lists of numbers and column C contains the sum of columns A and B for each row. The function in cell C2 would be “=SUM(A2:B2)”. To copy this function to the remaining cells of column C, follow these steps:

You’ll often need to sort your data in Excel, whether it be numerically, alphabetically, by color, or by icon. In this chapter from My Excel 2016, you’ll learn the various ways of sorting data, allowing you to view data from least to greatest, greatest to least, and even by color.

In this chapter, you’ll learn the various ways of sorting data, allowing you to view data from least to greatest, greatest to least, and even by color. You’ll also learn how to do the following:

• Sorting data with one click
• Sorting using a custom, non-alphabetical order
• Sorting by color or icon
• Rearranging columns with a few clicks of the mouse and keyboard

You’ll often need to sort your data, whether it be numerically, alphabetically, by color, or by icon. You aren’t limited to sorting the rows—columns can also be sorted.

Sorting data allows you to change how you view it. For example, if your dataset has a date column, you can view the oldest data at the top, or you can view the newest data at the top. You can also sort the data so like values, such as product names, are grouped together. You can even combine sorts so that you not only view the products grouped together, but in date order from oldest to newest.

The Sort dialog box provides the most versatile way of sorting your data because it allows you to specify how you want the data sorted. When you use the dialog box, Excel applies each sort in the order it appears in the list.

Sort by Values

The Sort dialog box makes it easy to sort by multiple columns. A different sort method can be applied for each level. The sorts are done in the order they appear in the list.

1. Select a cell in the dataset. Excel will use this cell to determine the location and size of the dataset.

2. On the Data tab, select Sort.

3. If the data has a header row, but Excel doesn’t recognize it, select the My Data Has Headers check box.
4. From the Sort By drop-down, select the first column header by which to sort.
5. From the Sort On drop-down, select Values.

6. From the Order drop-down, select the order by which the column’s data should be sorted. Choose A to Z to sort in alphabetical order; choose Z to A to sort in the opposite order. If the data is numerical, the drop-down options will change to Smallest to Largest and Largest to Smallest.

7. Select Add Level to add another sort rule.
8. From the Then By drop-down, select the second column header by which to sort.
9. From the Sort On drop-down, select Values.
10. From the Order drop-down, select the order by which the column’s data should be sorted.
11. If you realize a field is in the wrong position, use the up or down arrow at the top of the dialog box to move the field to the correct location.

12. Click OK to sort the data.

Sort by Color or Icon

Excel can also sort data by fill color, font color, or an icon set from conditional formatting.

1. Select a cell in the dataset. Excel will use this cell to determine the location and size of the dataset.

2. On the Data tab, select Sort.

3. If the data has a header row, but Excel doesn’t recognize it, select the My Data Has Headers check box.
4. From the Sort By drop-down, select the column header by which to sort.
5. From the Sort On drop-down, select Cell Color to sort by the cell’s fill color. You can also choose Font Color to sort by the value’s color or Cell Icon to sort by conditional formatting icons.

6. From the first Order drop-down, select the color by which the column’s data should be sorted. If sorting by icon, you’ll have a choice of icons.

   What is the use of sort button?

   Sorts the selected row or column in ascending order. The hierarchical structure of the members is maintained. Sorts the selected row or column in descending order. The hierarchical structure of the members is maintained.

   Which tab you have to click to sort a data?

   On the HOME tab, click Sort & Filter, and click Filter. Click a drop-down arrow at the top of one of the columns to display its filter options. I click the drop-down arrow in the Category column. Since the column contains text I get the Text Filters options.

   What is the use of sorting feature in Excel?

   The SORT function sorts the contents of a range or array.

   What is a sorted data?

   Data sorting is any process that involves arranging the data into some meaningful order to make it easier to understand, analyze or visualize. Data is typically sorted based on actual values, counts or percentages, in either ascending or descending order, but can also be sorted based on the variable value labels.