Sort columns in Excel like in Explorer's detailed view?

DocanoDocano Texas
edited March 2004 in Science & Tech
There's a way to setup columns in Excel where if you click the column heading at the top of the column it sorts all the items in the column below it, similar to how, in windows explorer's detailed view, you click on the Name column heading it sorts the file names in ascending order and if you click Name again, it does it in ascending order. It's been about 5 years since I've done it, but I do know it's possible in Excel. I've just forgotten how. Could one of you help me out?

Thanks~

Comments

  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited March 2004
    Click on the column letter at the top if you want to sort the entire column. Or if you only want to sort certain cells within the column just highlight those cells.

    Then if you have the default tool bars there will be 2 icons One is an A over a Z with and arrow pointing down the other is a Z over an A with an arrow pointing up. Those are the quick ascending/descending buttons. If you don't have them click on the data tab then sort then it'll ask you more detailed info on how you want things sorted.

    Keep in mind that if you use the quick sort buttons that it'll only sort the column you have highlighted. So if information in column A is releated to column B then you need to highlight both sets of columns so they are sorted together and your data doesn't get screwed up.
  • DocanoDocano Texas
    edited March 2004
    Open up some folder in Windows Explorer and look at it with the Detailed View. You see several columns, among others: Name, Size, Type, Modified. As you know, if you click once on the column heading Modified, the folder contents display is sorted in ascending order by dates of modification; if you click Modified again, the contents are displayed in descending order by dates of modification.

    Given a row of column headings in Excel, let's say from A:2 through A:5 (Name, Size, Type, Modified), there's a way, though I don't remember how, to select those headings and convert them into four separate buttons that, when you click them, perform the same kind of sorting action as they do in Windows Explorer's detailed view. The method of sorting you suggest works but is too much work to do for large spreadsheets. I want to setup columns like I describe here and sort columns that way. Does that make sense?

    Like I said, I know it's possible. I just don't remember how.

    Thanks for your help :)
  • kanezfankanezfan sunny south florida Icrontian
    edited March 2004
    very easy to do. a picture is worth a thousand words, so you see those two buttons circled in red? after you click the letter and it highlights the whole colum, click one of them. i know it says a->z, but it works with numbers, dates, days of the wekk, etc...

    excel.jpg
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited March 2004
    Ummm select the column hit the sort button just like I said and kanezfan said.
  • DocanoDocano Texas
    edited March 2004
    Look, like I said, I know your method works, but that's not what I need to do. I already knew how to do that type of simple data sort anyway, though I didn't want to say that cuz I do appreciate your trying to help.

    Maybe it was something other than Excel I used to do it in high school.

    Thanks again and sorry if this post sounds unappreciative.
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