In this article I will demonstrate how to sort Excel data by multiple columns, by column names in alphabetical order, and by values in any row. Additionally, you will learn how to sort data in unconventional ways, when sorting alphabetically or numerically does not suffice.

I assume everyone is familiar with sorting by column alphabetically or in ascending/descending order. All you need to do is click the A-Z or Z-A buttons located on the Home tab in the Editing group and on the Data tab in the Sort & Filter group:

Nevertheless, the Excel Sort feature offers numerous options and capabilities that are not immediately apparent but can prove incredibly useful:

Now I will illustrate how to sort Excel data by two or more columns. I will demonstrate this using Excel 2010 because that’s the version installed on my computer. If you’re using another version of Excel, you should still be able to follow along without difficulty since the sorting features are largely identical in Excel 2007 and Excel 2013. You might notice slight differences in color schemes and dialog layouts, but nothing significant. Let’s proceed...

1. Click the Sort button on the Data tab or Custom Sort on the Home tab to open the Sort dialog.

2. Next, click the Add Level button as many times as the number of columns you wish to use for sorting:

3. From the "Sort by" and "Then by" dropdown lists, choose the columns you want to sort your data by. For instance, you're planning a vacation and have a list of hotels provided by a travel agency. You intend to sort them first by Region, then by Board basis, and finally by Price, as shown in the screenshot:

4. Click OK and you'll achieve these results:

   • First, the Region column is sorted alphabetically.
   • Second, the Board basis column is sorted, placing all-inclusive (AL) hotels at the top of the list.
   • Lastly, the Price column is sorted, from lowest to highest.

   

Sorting data by multiple columns in Excel is straightforward, isn’t it? However, the Sort dialog includes additional features. Later in this article, I will show you how to sort by row rather than column and how to rearrange data in your worksheet alphabetically based on column names. You’ll also learn how to sort your Excel data in non-standard ways when sorting alphabetically or numerically doesn’t apply.

Tip. If your values include both text and numeric characters, refer to How to sort mixed numbers and text in Excel.

Sorting in Excel by row and by column names

I imagine that in about 90% of cases when sorting data in Excel, you sort by values in one or several columns. Occasionally, though, we encounter complex datasets where we need to sort by row (horizontally), meaning rearranging the order of columns from left to right based on column headers or values in a specific row.

For instance, you have a list of cameras provided by a local retailer or downloaded online. The list includes various features, specifications, and prices like this:

You need to sort the cameras based on parameters that matter most to you. As an example, let’s sort them by model name.

1. Select the range of data you wish to sort. If you want to rearrange all the columns, you can simply select any cell within your range. We can’t do this for our data because Column A lists different features and we want it to stay in place. Thus, our selection begins with cell B1:

2. Click the Sort button on the Data tab to open the Sort dialog. Notice the "My data has headers" checkbox in the upper-right part of the dialog; you should uncheck it if your worksheet lacks headers. Since our sheet has headers, we leave the tick and click the Options button.

3. In the opening Sort Options dialog under Orientation, choose Sort left to right, and click OK.

4. Then select the row by which you want to sort. In our example, we select Row 1 that contains the camera names. Ensure you have "Values" selected under Sort and "A to Z" under Order, then click OK.

   The outcome of your sorting should resemble this:

   

I understand that sorting by column names holds limited practical value in our scenario and we did it solely for illustrative purposes so you could grasp how it functions. Similarly, you can sort the list of cameras by size, imaging sensor, sensor type, or any other feature crucial to you. For instance, let’s sort them by price.

What you do is follow steps 1 - 3 as outlined above and then, on step 4, instead of Row 2, you select Row 4 that lists retail prices. The result of sorting will appear like this:

Please note that more than just one row has been sorted. Entire columns have been moved to ensure the integrity of the data. In essence, what you see in the screenshot above is the list of cameras sorted from least expensive to most expensive.

I hope this gives you a better understanding of how sorting rows works in Excel. But what happens when we deal with data that doesn’t sort well alphabetically or numerically?

Sorting data in custom order (using a custom list)

If you wish to sort your data in a custom order other than alphabetical, you can utilize the built-in Excel custom lists or create your own. With built-in custom lists, you can sort by days of the week or months of the year. Microsoft Excel provides two types of such custom lists - with abbreviated and full names:

Let’s say we have a list of weekly household chores and we want to sort them by due date or priority.

1. Begin by selecting the data you want to sort and then opening the Sort dialog just as we did when sorting by multiple columns or by column names (Data tab > Sort button).

2. In the Sort by box, pick the column you wish to sort by—in our case, it’s the Day column since we aim to sort our tasks by the days of the week. Then choose Custom List under Order as shown in the screenshot:

3. In the Custom Lists dialog box, select the appropriate list. Given that we have abbreviated day names in the Day column, we opt for the corresponding custom list and click OK.

   And there you have it! Our household tasks are now sorted by the day of the week:

   ![](/uploads/20250601/1748

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