Have you ever needed to sort your Excel column headings? In the data set above, I have sales figures for four products, each listed in no particular order. What if I wanted to see those columns sorted alphabetically, from Apples to Zooms. To do that:
1. Select the column headings you wish to sort and the complete data below them. Do not select any columns on the left or right that you do not want to be sorted. In the screenshot below, columns A and F are not selected, as I want to keep in place the Month and Total columns.
2. On the Home tab, click on the Sort & Filter button. From the menu, choose Custom Sort…
3. In the Sort window, click on the Options… button.
4. In the Sort Options window, click the option next to Sort left to right. Then click OK.
5. Back in the Sort window, click on the drop-down box next to Sort by, and select the appropriate row that contains your headings. In this example, Row 1 is selected because that is where the column headings are located.
6. Make sure that the Order option is correct. The default given is A to Z. However, if you want your headings sorted in reverse order, choose Z to A from the drop-down menu.
7. Press OK.
Now, the headings have been sorted alphabetically, and the data underneath has moved with the column headings. Both the Month and Total columns remain unmoved.
This option isn’t available to me. I have an Excel table with headers and sorting left to right is grayed out.
James, it seems that option is unavailable when you have a block of data formatted as an Excel Table. You know it is formatted as an Excel Table if a Table Tools tab section appears when you click inside the data. To sort horizontally, you need to convert the Table to a normal range of data. Here are the instructions:
1. Click inside the data range.
2. On the Design tab of the Table Tools section, click the “Convert to Range” button.
3. In the message box asking “Do you want to convert the table to a normal range?”, click on “Yes”.
4. Sort the columns using the instructions in this blog post.
Once the column headings are sorted, you can convert the data back to an Excel Table. To do this:
1. Select the entire range of data.
2. On the “Home” tab, click on the “Format as Table” button.
3. Choose an appearance, and click on it from the options shown.
4. In the “Format As Table” window, verify that the correct range of data is selected. Also, make sure that the checkbox for “My table has headers” is ticked.
5. Press “OK”.
Your data has been converted back to an Excel Table. Perhaps Microsoft will include horizontal sorting for Excel Tables in a future release of Office.