Google Sheets provides users with a number of different sorting options. The sorting option you choose will largely depend on how much of the spreadsheet you want to sort, such as the entire worksheet or a subsection of it and what type of user experience you want to provide for your report viewers. We’ll explain the different options to help you determine the best sort option for your use case.
Table of Contents
Types of Sorting
Sorting Sheets
To sort an entire worksheet in Google Sheets, select a cell or column then navigate to the Data drop down menu at the top of Google Sheets. The column of the selected cell will be the key field that the entire sheet is sorted by. You can choose to sort A to Z (Ascending) or Z to A (Descending).
Sorting a Range
To sort a range of cells in Google Sheets, first select the cell range you want to sort. Then navigate to the Data menu at the top of the work sheet and select Sort Range. The range will be sorted by the cell that is selected within the range or you can sort by multiple fields using Advanced Sorting options.
Sorting Tables
When data is placed into a Google Sheets Table, it can be sorted by using the dropdown menu button to the right of each column name. Click on the down arrow and use the Sort Column menu to sort ascending or descending. The full table will be sorted by the selection.
Options exist for ascending, descending sort by fill color or text color when colors are present.
Tables are created in Google Sheets by selecting the full range of cells you want to turn into a table, then right click on the range and select convert to table. Tables are a great way to work with larger datasets in Google Sheets as it will automatically format and fill data down. Tables can also become the starting point of a low-code app.
Sorting with Filters
A user friendly option for report viewers to sort a table in Google Sheets are with filters. To enable filters, select a cell range then click on the Create a Filter button from the Google Sheets toolbar. Then use the upside down triangles to the right of each field name and choose to Sort A to Z, Z to A, or sort by colors.
The Create a Filter button is on the right side of the Google Sheets Toolbar.
When filters are enabled, they provide a dropdown menu to not only filter columns but also let you sort using various criteria.
Sorting by Multiple Levels
Google Sheets allows you to sort by multiple levels using Advanced Range Sorting Options. Select a range of cells the navigate to Data, Sort Range, Advanced Range Sorting Options. A Sort Range dialog box appears allowing you to choose which columns to sort by, the order, and whether each one is ascending or descending.
Advanced Range Sorting Options are available under Data, Sort Range:
To add a sort level, use the dialog box to Add Another Sort Column and choose the column name. If column names don’t appear at first, enable the Data has a header row option. Columns are sorted in order they are added from top to bottom with the sort descending or ascending option selected.
To delete a sort level, click on the trash can icon to the right of the column that’s being sorted in the Advanced Range Sorting Options dialog box.