To alphabetize data in Excel, you can use several methods depending on whether you want to sort a single column, multiple columns, or rows. Here are the main ways:
Alphabetize a Single Column
- Select any cell in the column you want to sort.
- Go to the Data tab on the ribbon.
- In the Sort & Filter group, click A-Z to sort ascending (alphabetically) or Z-A to sort descending.
- Excel will instantly reorder the column alphabetically
Alphabetize Multiple Columns While Keeping Rows Intact
- Select the entire data range including all columns.
- On the Data tab, click Sort.
- In the Sort dialog box, choose the column you want to sort by from the "Sort by" dropdown.
- Choose the order (A to Z or Z to A).
- Click OK.
- Excel will sort the selected column alphabetically and automatically move the corresponding data in other columns to keep rows together
Alphabetize Rows (Sort Left to Right)
- Select the row you want to sort.
- Click Sort on the Data tab.
- Click Options in the Sort dialog box.
- Choose Sort left to right and click OK.
- In the "Sort by" dropdown, select the row number.
- Choose A to Z or Z to A and click OK.
- The data in the selected row will be alphabetized
Additional Tips
- If you have names and want to alphabetize by last name, you may need to use formulas to extract last names before sorting
- If Excel asks whether to expand the selection when sorting a column, choose to expand to keep related data together
- You can also convert your data range to a table (Ctrl+T) and use the filter dropdown on column headers to sort alphabetically
This covers the most common and straightforward ways to alphabetize data in Excel efficiently
