As a self-proclaimed lover of spreadsheets, I've spent countless hours organizing data in Google Sheets. And if there's one thing I've learned in all my time spent with this tool, it's that sorting data is essential. Luckily, Google Sheets makes it easy to sort your data by multiple columns. After all, sometimes sorting your data by just one column isn't enough.
In this article, I'll walk you through the step-by-step process of sorting by multiple columns in Google Sheets. You'll be a pro in no time!
The first step to sorting by multiple columns is to highlight your data. This can be done by clicking and dragging your cursor over the area of cells you want to sort. Alternatively, you can click on the top-left cell of your data and then hold down Shift and click on the bottom-right cell of your data.
Once your data is highlighted, you'll see a small arrow in the top right corner of your selection. Click on this arrow to open up the Sort Sheet Z A menu.
As I mentioned in the previous step, once your data is highlighted, you'll see a small arrow in the top right corner of your selection. Clicking on this arrow will open up the Sort Sheet Z A menu.
What's great about this menu is that you have multiple sorting options to choose from. You can sort your data alphabetically, numerically, or even chronologically. Additionally, you can sort by values, cell color, or font color. For this tutorial, we'll be sorting by multiple columns.
Once you have the Sort Sheet Z A menu open, you'll notice that there are several options available to you. First, you'll need to select which columns you want to sort by first. To do this, click on the "Add Another Sort Column" button.
From here, you can select which column you want to sort by first. This means that your data will be sorted by this column first, and then by the subsequent columns you select.
Now that you've selected which column to sort by first, you can select which columns to sort by second, third, fourth, and so on. You can sort your data by up to five columns.
To add another column to sort by, simply click on the "Add Another Sort Column" button again. From here, you can select the column you want to sort by second. Repeat this step until you've selected all the columns you want to sort by.
Once you've selected all the columns you want to sort by, you'll need to choose whether you want to sort your data in ascending or descending order.
By default, Google Sheets sorts data in ascending order (A->Z). However, if you want to sort your data in descending order (Z->A), you can do so by clicking on the "A-Z" button in the Sort Sheet Z A menu.
Now that you've selected the columns you want to sort by and the order in which you want to sort your data, it's time to apply the sort.
To do this, click on the "Sort" button in the Sort Sheet Z A menu. Google Sheets will then sort your data according to the columns and order you specified.
Sorting by multiple columns may seem complicated at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's a powerful tool for organizing your data. With just a few clicks, you can sort your data by multiple columns in Google Sheets and make it easily understandable and readable.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them in the comments below. I'm always happy to chat about spreadsheets!
Happy sorting!
