How to sort in Google Sheets

Google Sheets packs many convenient features to help you through your tasks. For instance, one vital feature is the ability to sort your data in alphabetical and numerical order to make sense of it all. Here’s how to sort in Google Sheets to save you time.

Read more: How to find, highlight, and remove duplicates in Google Sheets

How to sort in Google Sheets on a computer

One everyday use for a spreadsheet is keeping track of your contact list, so for this example, we’ll demonstrate how to alphabetize a contact list. Before you can begin sorting, you’ll have to decide what data is important. Start by selecting all of the rows and columns you plan to use.

Now head up to the Data tab. This is where you’ll manage your sorting, whether you choose to sort your Google Sheet by column or other criteria.

Scroll down to the option that says Sort Range. This should open a menu box. In our case, we’ve chosen not to highlight the header line, but if your data has a header line, select the checkbox.

The line that says Sort By is your opportunity to decide how to organize your data. As we’re using a contact list, we will sort by last name (Column B). Open the dropdown list to select the column and choose between the A → Z or Z → A buttons. Then click Sort.

You should now see all of your contacts organized alphabetically by last name, making locating clients or staff easy. You can follow the same steps if you’re looking to sort by date too.

How to sort in Google Sheets on Android or iOS

To select a column, tap a letter at the top. Then tap the column again to open the menu. From there, tap More, represented by the three-dot icon.

Scroll down and tap SORT A-Z or SORT Z-A.

As you can see, Google will then sort the data accordingly.

A quick sort can help you save plenty of time finding specific information in spreadsheets.

Yes, a basic example of the sort function would be =SORT(range, column_index, ascending_order).

Why can’t I sort by date in Google Sheets?

Make sure all of your date values are valid. One easy way to do this is to use the DATEVALUE function.