Google Sheets Auto Sort: Easiest Method in 2024

The ability to auto sort in Google Sheets is useful when handling large sets of data, it allows us to find or display information quickly and in a structured manner.

How to Auto Sort in Google Sheets using Built-in Features

Using cell actions:

Step 1: Select the data range you want to order

Step 2: Right click > View more cell actions > Sort Range

This can also be achieved by selecting the Data option from the top menu bar followed by Sort range which will then present two quick options to order the range A-Z or Z-A. Click Advanced range sorting options:

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Step 3: Choose the column you want to sort or add another column and choose A-Z or Z-A

Step 4: Select Sort, your data in the table will be ordered to your parameters

Auto Sort using the SORT Function

The SORT function is an efficient and flexible way to organize data when managing large datasets. The function can be applied to order a single column or can be applied to multiple columns.

Example

For this demonstration a dataset has been created displaying three shoes with a variety of sizes. We will arrange this data to view the shoes and their sizes by ascending order (A-Z).

Step 1: Open your existing data set or create a new one

Step 2: Select an empty cell next to your data set

Please ensure that you leave adequate room for the new data to populate

Step 3: Enter the SORT function

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=SORT(RANGE,First Column, is_ascending)

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Multiple Columns:

=SORT(RANGE,First Column, is_ascending, Secondary Column, is_ascending)

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Formula Breakdown:

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=SORT(

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RANGE: This is range of data you wish to organize

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First Column: Columns within your range are called from left to right starting with the number 1, the column specified first will be the first one to be ordered.

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Is_ascending: This value is set via a true/false value and applicable to the first defined column, if true - the sorted data will be in an ascending order, if false - the data will be sorted in a descending order.

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Secondary Column: This column will be sorted after column 1

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Is_ascending: This value is set via a true/false value and is applicable to the secondary specified column, if true - sorted data will be in an ascending order, if false - data will be sorted in a descending order.

In this example we are going to include all of the data in the range and organize both columns by ascending order. In this example “Item Name” is the first column organized followed by “Size”. 

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Step 4: Press enter and your results will populate

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Supercharge Your Spreadsheets with Lido

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like our article on how to sort data in Google Sheets or our article on how to custom sort in Google Sheets. 

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If you want to learn how to sort rows in Google Sheets or how to use mail merge in Google Sheets, we also suggest checking out our detailed guide.