Organizing data has become a much needed skill
in today's data-driven world.
And Microsoft Excel has become a leading supporter
of these efforts.
Excel is a common computer program
that allows users to organize and analyze data.
Many companies use Excel for record keeping and data
tracking, but how useful is this data if you aren't
able to organize it quickly?
In this video, I'm going to share
how to use the sort function in Excel
to help you quickly sort your data.
Let's get started.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
How to sort your data in Excel?
For this example, I'm starting out with the data set
that I need to sort.
Here, I have a basic data set of data points organized
by columns with headers including
company name, product, cost, and purchase month.
Now, before I begin sorting, there's
one important thing to note.
Once I start sorting data, there really
isn't an easy way to go back aside
from clicking undo a bunch of times.
If I will want to revert my data back to its original form,
I can either duplicate my sheet to create a backup by right
clicking the sheet name, then I'll click on Move or Copy.
Next, I'll click on Create a Copy, and press OK.
The other option is to create a new column
to the left of column A. In this column,
I'll number each row in its original order.
To quickly number my rows, I'll number the first two rows, then
click on the bottom right corner of the second cell
and drag down.
Excel will auto populate the rest of the cells
in consecutive order.
For now, I'll hide this column.
But I'll show you how to restore the data
to its original order using this method later in the video.
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Sorting options.
Step 1, highlight the data items you want to sort.
Click and drag your cursor to select
all the cells you want to sort.
You could choose to highlight single or multiple rows
or columns or both rows and columns
depending on how you want to reorganize your data.
Step 2, access sorting feature.
It's possible to sort based on any header in my data set.
There are two ways to access the sorting feature.
The first is to click on sort and filter
in the toolbar then select the sorting options.
The second option, the one I'll be demonstrating in this video,
is to right click within the column I want
to sort, then go down to sort.
Step 3, select the header you want to sort by.
If I want to sort by product, I'll
click in the Product column.
If I want to sort by cost, I'll click in the Cost column.
I'll get a few quick access options
like sorting by smallest to largest, largest
to smallest, cell color, font color, and even cell icons.
Step 4, customizing your sorting options.
For this example, I want to sort my cost column.
First, I'll right click within the cost column,
then go down to sort.
I want to see the cost listed by smallest
to largest, so I'll click here.
Now, my data is listed by cost in order
of smallest to largest.
If instead, I want to see company names listed
alphabetically, I'll right click within the company name column,
go to Sort, then click Sort A to Z.
How to sort multiple columns?
Let's say I want to sort by company name and cost,
all I have to do is right click in either column, go to Sort,
then click on Custom Sort.
This window shows my current sorting order.
Since the most recent sorting option
I selected was company name, I can see that listed here.
Now, I just have to add the cost sorting option.
To add another sorting level or sorting rule,
I'll click on this plus sign at the bottom left of this window,
then I'll choose cost from the column field.
The default setting organizes my data from smallest to largest.
But if I wanted to change that, all I have to do
is select a different option in the order field.
And just a quick note, if your data set
has headers as my list does, make
sure this button is checked.
Once the sorting options are set, I'll click OK.
And now, my data is organized exactly how I want.
But if I want to organize my data even further,
I can add filters.
Let's say I don't want to see November's purchases.
First, I'll add filters to my columns
by clicking the sort and filter option from the toolbar,
then click on Filter.
This adds small dropdown menus to each column
shown as these small arrows.
Then I'll right click on the menu next to purchase month.
Under the filter section, I'll then deselect November.
Now, my data is arranged by company name alphabetically,
cost, lowest to highest, and it excludes
any purchases made in November.
To add or remove any or all of the filters,
I'll click on the dropdown menu next to the column title.
And in this menu, click Select All,
which will select all of the data
and essentially remove any filters.
For advice on how to list Excel skills on your resume,
check out the video I linked at the top.
How to unsort?
As I mentioned before, there's not really
an easy way to do this.
If I duplicated my sheet before I began sorting,
I'd simply click on the correct tab
to see my data as it was first presented.
If I use the numbering method, I'll
need to remove all of the filters
I applied before doing this step or that data will still
be filtered or hidden.
With the numbering method, I'll right
click on the upper left hand side of my sheet
and select unhide.
You'll notice that the numbers in this column
are out of order.
Because when I sorted my data, the numbers
stayed in the same road they were originally added.
To revert my data set back to its original order,
I can simply sort the data in column A.
I'll right click in the number column, go to Sort,
choose Sort by Smallest to Largest number.
And voila, the data is organized in its original order.
Excel is great for managing and quickly analyzing information.
Luckily, these steps will help you
uncover new user friendly ways of sorting your data.
To learn how to use Excel and dig deeper into your data,
check out this video right here.
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Thank you so much for watching.
See you next time.