How to Sort by Date in Excel
Sorting by date in Excel is a quick way to bring order to your spreadsheet, making it easier to follow timelines, track progress, or review records. Whether you’re working on sales reports, project schedules, or personal logs, Excel gives you simple tools to arrange your data from oldest to newest or newest to oldest.
Here’s a step-by-step guide:
1. Prepare Your Data
First, make sure your date column is properly formatted. If your dates are stored as text, Excel won’t recognize them correctly. To fix this:
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Highlight the column
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Right-click and choose Format Cells
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Select Date from the options
2. Select the Column
Click anywhere inside the column that holds your dates. If your sheet has headers, label the top cell clearly (for example, “Date” or “Order Date”). This helps Excel separate your header from the actual data.
3. Use the Sort Tool
Go to the Data tab on the ribbon. Under Sort & Filter, choose either:
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Sort Oldest to Newest
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Sort Newest to Oldest
Pick whichever suits your needs.
4. Apply Custom Sorting (Optional)
If you’re working with a full table that includes several columns, use the Sort dialog box to keep everything aligned. Select your table, go to Data > Sort, and set your date column as the primary sort key. You can also add extra levels to sort by other columns, such as names or amounts.
5. Review Your Results
Once sorted, scan through your spreadsheet to ensure that all rows still match their corresponding dates. If anything looks off, simply press Ctrl + Z to undo.
6. Fix Sorting Problems
If sorting doesn’t work, your dates might still be stored as text or in mixed formats. Converting them to proper date format or using the Text to Columns tool usually solves the problem.
