how do you sort multiple colums at once?

Posted by sean on March 06, 2001 9:10 AM

hi,

I have many coluns of numbers. I want to sort each data set in each column from smallest number to largest. How do I sort all the columns at once instead of highlighting each column one at a time and sorting?

Posted by Mark W. on March 06, 2001 9:20 AM

Excel's Data Sort... menu command allows you to
sort as many as 3 columns in one pass. If you
need to sort more columns than this you can
use the macro recorder to create a procedure that
can be reused.

Posted by Dave Hawley on March 06, 2001 9:20 AM

Hi Sean

You may need a macro for this, so here is one.
To use it Push Alt+F11 and go to Insert>Module.
Paste in this code:

Sub MultiSort()
Dim Cols As Range, i As Integer
Set Cols = Selection
For i = 1 To Cols.Columns.Count
Cols.Columns(i).Sort Key1:=Cols.Columns(i).Cells(1, 1), _
Order1:=xlAscending, Header:=xlYes, _
OrderCustom:=1, MatchCase:=False, _
Orientation:=xlTopToBottom
Next i
End Sub

Push Alt+Q and save.

Select all your columns you want to sort (including headings) and push Alt+F8.

Click "MultiSort" then "Run"

Dave

OzGrid Business Applications