Sort Data in Custom Order in Microsoft Excel

Sort your Data beyond A-Z with Custom Sort 

Have you ever tried to sort data in Microsoft Excel only to find that the built-in alphabetical or numerical sorting is just not good enough? The new custom sorting feature in Excel comes in handy at this moment! It empowers you to sort elements in any way-defined priority, in any way-defined status, or in any sort of way. 

How is a custom sort different from Excel's wildcards?

Custom sorts ensure data is ordered according to a value or order entered by the user and not, say, A-Z or smallest to largest. It comes in handy when:

• Status fields (e.g. "High", "Medium", "Low")
• Days of the week (e.g. "Mon", "Tue", "Wed")
• Stages of a task (e.g. "To Do", "In Progress", "Done")
• Priority labels or ratings

🛠️ How to Sort Data by Custom Order in Excel

Step 1: Select your data

Select the table or just a column you want to sort.

Step 2: Go to the Data tab -> Select Sort

The Sort dialog box appears on your screen.

Step 3: Select the column to sort by 

Pick the column with your custom values from the dropdown.

Step 4: Click Order -> Custom List

Now enter your preferred order manually (e.g., "High, Medium, Low") or select a built-in one like days or months.

Step 5: Click OK -> OK again to apply

Your data is now sorted in your defined order!

Example: Sort by Task Status

Custom List: To Do, In Progress, Done

Use Sort -> Custom List -> Enter the list -> Sort by “Status” column

💡 Pro Tips for Custom Sort

• Working together with filters to use custom sort and slicing data in a flash
• Save your custom list in Excel so that you can reuse it somewhere else in future
• Sorting by the colours of cells to sort the visually marked ones
• Multiple levels (Sort by Department, then by Priority)

🎯 Where Custom Sort Comes in Handy

• Sales Pipeline Tracking
• Project Management Taskboards
• HR Status Updates (Interviewed > Hired > Onboarded)
• Academic Grading (Excellent > Good > Average > Poor)

With custom sort in Excel, you are no longer stuck with basic A-Z sorting. You can take control of the order of your data to reflect your objectives so that you can create cleaner, better-thinking spreadsheets.

🎓 Learn More with Other Levels

Take your Excel skills to the next level:

• 🌐 Visit our Other Levels Website

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