Excel: Using Custom sort to sort data

Sort data using a custom list



Excel has the options to Sort data Oldest to Newest, A-Z, smallest to largest in ascending or descending order. If you need to sort data by any custom attribute or status you can use a custom sort list.

With built-in custom lists, you can sort data ???either by days of the week or months of the year. You can also create your own custom lists to sort by any other characteristic that doesn???t sort well alphabetically???such as high, medium, and low???or S, M, L, XL or any of your specific requirements.



To sort data using a custom list, you can do the following:

• Select the columns you want to sort.
• On the ribbon, Click Data > Sort.
  
  
  
  
• In the Sort dialog box, in the Sort by box, select the column you want to sort by.
• From the Order dropdown, select Custom List.
  
  
  
  
• In the Custom Lists tab, select the list you want, and then click OK to sort the worksheet.
  
  
  
  
• You can access the Custom sort menu through Home > Sort & Filter dropdown > Custom sort.
  
  

Create your own custom list



You can add Custom Lists of your own using the following two methods:



If you have a short list, such as high, medium, and low, you can type it directly into the List entries box in the Custom Lists dialog box.

• Once you open the Custom list menu, Click on Add.
  
  
• Type in your list values one by one as shown below and then click OK.

If you have a bigger list it may be easier to manage and add using the below steps:

• In a column of a worksheet, enter the values to sort by. Arrange them in the order that you want to define the sort order???from top to bottom. For example:
  
  
  
  
• Select the cells in that list column, and then click File > Options > Advanced.
  
  
• Under General, click Edit Custom Lists.In the Custom Lists box, click Import.
  
  
  
  

Once imported or added these lists would be available in custom list options in Excel