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Chapter 6 Using Tables 133
Sorting Table Cells
You can arrange values in some or all the cells in a column in ascending or descending
order. Rows containing cells being sorted are reordered. Header cells aren’t sorted.
Here are ways to sort:
 To sort all the cells in a column, select one of the column’s cells, open the Table
Inspector, and then choose Sort Ascending or Sort Descending from the Edit Rows &
Columns pop-up menu.
 To sort only some of the cells in a column, select the cells before choosing Sort
Ascending or Sort Descending.
The following table describes how different types of data are sorted in ascending or
descending order.
Type of data Ascending order Descending order
Text aA–zZ Zz–Aa
Dates Year (earliest first), then Month
(January first), then day (1-31)
Year (most current first), then
month (December first), then
day (31-1)
Numbers –2, –1, 0, 1, and so on 1, 0, –1, –2, and so on
Cells containing only text, mixed
with cells containing only
numbers
–2, –1, 0, 1, and so on, then aA–
zZ
Zz–Aa, then 1, 0, –1, –2, and so
on
Cells containing a mixture of
text and numbers
Values starting with numbers
first (1z, 1Z, a1, A1)
Values starting with text first (A1,
a1, 1A, 1z)
Empty cells At the bottom At the bottom
Boolean (TRUE, FALSE) Below text and above an empty
cell
Above text