Using a custom sort order

If you want to sort your data, follow the next steps:

   1.   Open the Sort dialog box, do one of the following:

• On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click the Sort & Filter list and choose Custom Sort...:
  
• Right-click any cell in the table and choose Sort -> Custom Sort... in the shortcut menu:
  

   2.   In the Sort dialog box, use the drop-down lists to specify key columns, values, and sorting order:

• To select data in the table or any data range with headers, check the My data has headers checkbox:
  
• In the Sort by dropdown list, select a column or table header for sorting,
• In the Sort On dropdown list, select one of the options:
  

  • Cell Values allows you to sort data by cell values
  • Cell Color allows you to sort data by cell background color
  • Font Color allows you to sort data by text color of the cells
  • Conditional Formatting Icon – see more about Conditional formatting
• In the Order column, select the sorting order:
  • A to Z - in ascending alphabetical order or Z to A - in descending alphabetical order for text values,
  • Smallest to Largest or Largest to Smallest for the numerical values,
  • Oldest to Newest or Newest to Oldest for date or time values,
  • Custom List...:
  
• If you prefer to sort data by several columns:
  • Click the Add Level button to insert another line of sorting criteria
  • Copy the line of criteria by clicking the Copy level button
  • Delete the line of criteria by clicking the Delete level button
  • Change the order of the sorting criteria by clicking the Move Up and Move Down buttons:
  
• Click the Options... button to open the Sort Options dialog box:
  
  • Select the Case sensitive checkbox to sort analyzing the text case of cell values.

    For example, the custom sort order (see below):

    
  • Select the Sort left to right option to change the sorting method from columns to rows:
    

   3.   In the Custom Lists dialog box, choose the custom sort list or create a new list:

• Excel, by default, has four "custom lists", and you can define your own. Excel's custom lists are as follows:
  
  • Abbreviated days: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
  • Days: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
  • Abbreviated months: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
  • Months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

  Note that the abbreviated days and months do not have periods after them. If you use periods for these abbreviations, they are not recognized (and are not sorted correctly).

• You may want to create a custom list. For example, your company may have several stores, and you want the stores to be listed in a particular order (not alphabetically).

  To create a custom list, select the NEW LIST option and make your entries (in order) in the List Entries box.

  For example, sort the Microsoft products in the prioritized order:

  

See also this tip in French: Comment utiliser un ordre de tri personnalisé.