We will now move to cover some more powerful tools for accessing data in Excel. First, let's cover a basic step, sorting your data.
Open up the Sorting file to follow along and do your own sorts.
We have put together a sales database. Before you jump in and sort, we suggest:
Put in column headings
Make sure the column headings are unique
Set up a named range for the data by highlighting the data and then inserting a name in the named range box
Now you are ready:
Highlight your data
Go to the menu bar and select Data, then Sort, to get the Sort dialog box
You get to choose up to 3 fields and whether you want an ascending or descending sort. Leave blank if you don't need it or select None to unselect a previous field in a sort. The fewer fields, the faster a large sort can run.
Click OK and you can see your data sorted. Click Ctrl and Z if you want to undo the sort you just did.
Most common error on sorts- not selecting the entire range (using named ranges can protect this). If you don't have all the columns selected, you can do serious damage to your data, if you miss it. Click Ctrl Z multiple times until you get back to where you want. Otherwise, hopefully you save your file with a backup copy (File, SaveAs, then Tools, General Options from the save dialog box)
You can also create your own custom sort list. First highlight the data, then from the menu bar select Tools, Options. Then pick Custom Lists
You could type in a manual list like we did below and click Add.
You can also setup a custom list by importing a list. Make sure your list is free of duplicates.
With any custom list, you can modify the sort order or even delete the list.
To later use a custom list, begin by selecting Data, then Sort from the menu bar as you did in the sort done earlier. Then click the Option button.
Click on the down arrow and you will get your list of custom sorts to choose from.
The option in the Sort Options dialog is the orientation. Usually you will be sorting rows. In the rare cases where you will be sorting columns, then click the Sort left to right option at the bottom of the Sort Options dialog.
Sorting your data can let you do quality check s or analyze your data. Custom sorts could also be very useful for sorting by product, region or other fields important to your business.
Next we will start getting into more powerful uses of data, to pull out information in summary form.