Word's sorting tool allows you to sort text a number of different ways in your document. You can sort tables, dates, paragraphs, and more with just a few clicks in Word. The following articles discuss how Word sorts text by default and the modifications you can make to use the sort tool just how you need.
Tips, Tricks, and Answers
The following articles are available for the 'Sorting' topic. Click the article''s title (shown in bold) to see the associated article.
Alphabetizing By Last Name
Sorting lists of names by last name is easy if they are listed in a LAST, FIRST order. But what if the names are in FIRST LAST order? There are features in Word that make this possible. This tip explains how to use those features.
Changing Paragraph Order
Want a quick way to rearrange entire paragraphs of your document? You can easily do it by using the technique described here.
Changing Sort Order
When sorting information, Word follows some pretty strict rules. If you want to modify how those rules are applied, you may be out of luck. Here's why.
Controlling How Word Sorts Text
Word has a very orderly way in which it sorts information, but that orderly method may not meet what you need to have done. Here is a technique you can use to get exactly the sorting done that you need.
Controlling Sorting Order
When you sort information either in a table or the body of you document, Word follows a very specific set of rules to do the sorting. You can change those rules by adjusting the sorting options, as described in this tip.
Word is great at sorting simple information in tables and paragraphs. If you have more complex information (such as variable-length names), the sorting can be more of a challenge. Here's one way to approach the problem.
Sorting a Text Selection
Word gives you the option to sort selected groups of text. You can do text, date or number sorts on whole paragraphs or columns of data separated by tabs.
Sorting an Album List
Word allows you to easily sort the information you store in a document. If you want to sort information as groups of paragraphs, rather than as individual paragraphs, you'll appreciate the information in this tip.
Sorting by Headings
Headings are a great way to organize your document. If, after getting your headings in place, you want to sort by those headings, you can do so by following the steps in this tip.
Sorting by Highlighting
The sorting capabilities of Word are quite handy and easy to use. What if you want to sort by something Word doesn't sort by, such as highlighting? This tip outlines one way that you can approach the task.
Sorting Dates Numerically
How you sort dates depends, in large part, on how they are formatted. This tip examines a very specific date format (year.month.day) and how it can be sorted properly in a Word table.
Sorting Single-Column Addresses
Got a document that contains a bunch of addresses? If you want to sort the addresses, then you are in for a surprise because it may not be as easy as you think. This tip explains the easiest methods to get your addresses in the order you need.
Sorting Tabular Tables
Some people like to format simple tables using tabs instead of using Word's table editor. When it comes time to sort such tables, here are the steps you need to follow.
Word makes it easy to sort the information that is contained in your document. Here's how to accomplish this.