Excel tips for sorting data over 3 columns

For many users who often use Excel sorting, the Sort dialog box allows only one set of 3 keywords at a time that is difficult to meet. In the worksheet shown in the figure, there is a table with 5 columns of data, if you need to sort from left to right, it becomes a challenge, and when you click data → sort, you cannot set the finish date and the responsible person fields in the Sort dialog box.

Figure 1 Excel table sorting

In fact, Excel's sort keywords are not limited by the dialog box in the previous illustration, and can be sorted by any number of columns as keywords. Users only need to grasp a principle, you can achieve more than 3 columns of data to order: In a multiple-column table, the first sorted columns, will be in the other listed as the standard of the sorting process, as far as possible to maintain their own sequence.

As a result, when you sort multiple columns, you sort the columns that are less important (or lower in order precedence), and then sort more importantly (or, perhaps, the highest sort priority).

In this case, because you don't have a lot of columns, you can even discard the Sort dialog box instead, and then sort the responsible person, finish date, start date, project, category column by using the Ascending Arrange button on the toolbar.

Alternatively, you can do this by using the Sort dialog box two times: When you first use, "Finish date" as the primary key, the "responsible person" as a secondary key, and when you use the second time, set as shown in Figure 121 2.

The recently completed sort effect is shown in the figure.

Figure 2 Excel Table final effect