How to Sort by Number in Google Sheets (PC & Mac): A Step-by-Step Guide

Google Sheets is a powerful and versatile online spreadsheet program, widely used for organizing data, performing calculations, and collaborating with others. A common task when working with spreadsheets is sorting data. While sorting alphabetically is straightforward, sorting numerically can sometimes present challenges, especially for new users. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the process of sorting by number in Google Sheets on both PC and Mac, covering various scenarios and troubleshooting tips to ensure your data is perfectly organized.

Understanding the Basics of Sorting in Google Sheets

Before diving into the specifics of numerical sorting, let’s cover the basics of how sorting works in Google Sheets. Sorting involves arranging the rows of your spreadsheet based on the values in one or more columns. Google Sheets offers several sorting options, including ascending (A to Z, or smallest to largest) and descending (Z to A, or largest to smallest). You can sort a single column or sort multiple columns based on a hierarchy of criteria.

Why Sort by Number?

Sorting by number is essential in many situations. Here are a few common examples:

• Financial Data: Organizing expenses, income, or investment returns from lowest to highest or vice versa.
• Sales Data: Ranking products by sales volume or identifying top-performing sales representatives.
• Scientific Data: Ordering experimental results or measurements.
• Statistical Analysis: Arranging data for calculations such as finding the median or quartiles.
• Project Management: Prioritizing tasks based on assigned numerical values or deadlines represented as numbers.

In essence, whenever you need to analyze or present numerical data in a meaningful order, sorting by number is crucial.

Step-by-Step Guide to Sorting by Number in Google Sheets

The following steps outline the process of sorting by number in Google Sheets, applicable to both PC and Mac environments. The interface is identical across operating systems, ensuring a consistent experience.

Step 1: Open Your Google Sheet

First, open the Google Sheet containing the data you wish to sort. You can access Google Sheets through your web browser by visiting sheets.google.com. Sign in with your Google account and locate the sheet you need to work with.

Step 2: Select the Data Range

Next, you need to select the data range you want to sort. This is a critical step because Google Sheets will only sort the selected data, leaving the rest of your spreadsheet untouched. Here’s how to select your data correctly:

• Sorting the Entire Sheet: If you want to sort all rows in your sheet based on a column, click the small square at the intersection of the row numbers and column letters (the top-left corner of the sheet). This selects the entire sheet.
• Sorting a Specific Range: If you only want to sort a portion of your sheet, click and drag your mouse to select the cells you wish to include in the sort. Ensure you include the column headers if you want them to remain at the top of your sorted data.
• Selecting Columns: Click the column letter (e.g., A, B, C) to select an entire column. This is useful when you want to sort based on a single column and keep all associated row data together. You can select multiple contiguous columns by clicking and dragging across the column letters.

Important Note: Always include the header row in your selection if you have one. This will ensure that the headers stay with their respective columns during the sorting process. If you don’t select the header row, it might get sorted along with your data, which is usually not what you want.

Step 3: Access the Sort Options

Once you’ve selected your data range, you can access the sorting options in two ways:

• Method 1: Data Menu: Click on the “Data” menu in the Google Sheets toolbar. A dropdown menu will appear with several options related to data management.
• Method 2: Right-Click Menu: Right-click anywhere within your selected data range. A context menu will appear, offering options related to the selected cells.

Both methods lead to the same sorting options, so choose the one you find most convenient.

Step 4: Choose Your Sort Order

Depending on which method you used in Step 3, the next steps will vary slightly. Let’s explore both scenarios:

Using the Data Menu

1. In the “Data” menu, look for the “Sort range” section.
2. You’ll see options like “Sort range by column A (A → Z)” and “Sort range by column A (Z → A)”. These options provide a quick way to sort by the first column in your selection in ascending or descending order, respectively.
3. For more advanced sorting options, select “Sort range…” This opens a dialog box with more control over the sorting process.

Using the Right-Click Menu

1. In the right-click menu, look for the “Sort range” section.
2. You’ll find similar quick-sort options as in the Data menu, such as “Sort range by column A (A → Z)” and “Sort range by column A (Z → A)”.
3. For advanced sorting, select “Sort range…” to open the sorting dialog box.

Step 5: Configure the Sort Range Dialog Box (Advanced Sorting)

If you chose “Sort range…”, the “Sort range” dialog box will appear. This is where you have the most control over how your data is sorted. Here’s how to configure the dialog box:

1. Data has header row: Check this box if the first row in your selected range contains column headers. This tells Google Sheets to exclude the header row from the sorting process.
2. Sort by: Use the dropdown menu to select the column you want to sort by. The dropdown list will display the column letters (e.g., Column A, Column B) or the column headers if you checked the “Data has header row” box. Choose the column containing the numbers you want to sort.
3. Order: Choose the sort order. Select “A → Z” for ascending order (smallest to largest) or “Z → A” for descending order (largest to smallest). Even though you are sorting numbers, Google Sheets still uses the “A → Z” and “Z → A” terminology.
4. Add another sort column: Click this button if you want to sort by multiple columns. This allows you to create a hierarchy of sorting criteria. For example, you might first sort by department and then by salary within each department. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each additional sort column.
5. Click the “Sort” button: Once you’ve configured your sorting options, click the “Sort” button to apply the sorting to your data.

Troubleshooting Common Issues When Sorting by Number

While sorting by number is generally straightforward, you might encounter some issues. Here are a few common problems and how to solve them:

Issue 1: Numbers are Sorted as Text

Sometimes, Google Sheets might treat your numbers as text, leading to incorrect sorting. For example, it might sort “1”, “10”, “2” instead of “1”, “2”, “10”. This usually happens when the cells containing the numbers are formatted as text.

Solution:

1. Select the Column: Click the column letter to select the entire column containing the numbers.
2. Format as Number: Go to the “Format” menu in the toolbar.
3. Select “Number”: Choose the “Number” option. You can select a specific number format (e.g., “Number”, “Currency”, “Percent”) or simply choose “Automatic”.
4. Re-sort: After changing the format, re-sort the column to ensure the numbers are sorted correctly.

Issue 2: Blank Cells Affecting Sort Order

Blank cells within your data range can sometimes interfere with the sorting process. Google Sheets usually places blank cells either at the beginning or the end of the sorted data, depending on the sort order.

Solution:

1. Identify Blank Cells: Use the “Find and Replace” function (Edit > Find and Replace) to locate any blank cells in your data range. You can search for empty cells by leaving the “Find” field blank and clicking “Find all”.
2. Handle Blank Cells: Decide how you want to handle the blank cells. You can either fill them with a default value (e.g., 0, N/A) or delete the entire row if the blank cells indicate incomplete data.
3. Fill with a Default Value: If you choose to fill the blank cells, enter the desired value in the “Replace with” field in the “Find and Replace” dialog box and click “Replace all”.
4. Delete Rows (If Appropriate): If the blank cells indicate incomplete data and you want to remove those rows, select the rows containing the blank cells and right-click. Choose “Delete row” from the context menu.
5. Re-sort: After handling the blank cells, re-sort the column to ensure the data is sorted correctly.

Issue 3: Hidden Characters or Spaces

Invisible characters or extra spaces before or after the numbers can also cause sorting issues. These hidden characters can make Google Sheets treat the numbers as text.

Solution:

1. Use the TRIM Function: The `TRIM` function removes leading and trailing spaces from text. Create a new column next to the column with the numbers.
2. Apply TRIM: In the first cell of the new column, enter the formula `=TRIM(A1)`, replacing `A1` with the cell containing the first number in your original column.
3. Copy the Formula: Drag the fill handle (the small square at the bottom-right corner of the cell) down to apply the formula to all cells in the new column.
4. Copy and Paste Values: Select the entire new column, copy it (Ctrl+C or Cmd+C), and then paste it as values into the original column (right-click > Paste special > Paste values only). This replaces the original numbers with the trimmed versions.
5. Delete the Temporary Column: You can now delete the temporary column you created.
6. Re-sort: Re-sort the column to ensure the numbers are sorted correctly.

Issue 4: Dates Interpreted as Numbers

Sometimes, if you have dates formatted as numbers, they might not sort as expected. Google Sheets stores dates as serial numbers, so if the formatting is incorrect, they might not appear in chronological order after sorting.

Solution:

1. Select the Column: Click the column letter to select the entire column containing the dates.
2. Format as Date: Go to the “Format” menu in the toolbar.
3. Select “Number”: Choose the “Number” option and then select “Date” or “Date & time” from the available formats. Choose the format that best represents your date data.
4. Re-sort: After changing the format, re-sort the column to ensure the dates are sorted chronologically.

Advanced Sorting Techniques

Beyond the basic sorting methods, Google Sheets offers more advanced techniques for organizing your data. Here are a few examples:

Sorting by Multiple Columns

As mentioned earlier, you can sort by multiple columns to create a hierarchy of sorting criteria. This is useful when you want to group data by one category and then sort within each group by another category.

Example: Sorting a list of employees first by department and then by salary within each department.

1. Select the Data Range: Select the data range you want to sort, including the header row.
2. Open the Sort Range Dialog Box: Go to Data > Sort range > Sort range…
3. Check “Data has header row”: Ensure this box is checked if you have a header row.
4. Sort by Department: In the first “Sort by” dropdown, select the column containing the department names. Choose the desired sort order (A → Z or Z → A).
5. Add Another Sort Column: Click the “Add another sort column” button.
6. Sort by Salary: In the second “Sort by” dropdown, select the column containing the salary values. Choose the desired sort order (A → Z for ascending or Z → A for descending).
7. Click “Sort”: Click the “Sort” button to apply the sorting.

Creating a Custom Sort Order

Google Sheets doesn’t directly support custom sort orders for numbers (like sorting by specific intervals). However, you can achieve a similar result by creating a helper column.

Example: You want to sort a list of numbers based on predefined categories (e.g., Low, Medium, High) where Low < Medium < High.

1. Create a Helper Column: Insert a new column next to the column containing the numbers you want to sort.
2. Assign Numerical Values: In the helper column, assign numerical values to each category based on the desired sort order. For example, assign 1 to “Low”, 2 to “Medium”, and 3 to “High”. You can use `IF` statements to automate this process. For example, if your categories are in column A and the helper column is B, you might use a formula like `=IF(A1=”Low”, 1, IF(A1=”Medium”, 2, IF(A1=”High”, 3, 0)))`.
3. Sort by the Helper Column: Select the data range, including the helper column. Open the Sort range dialog box and sort by the helper column in ascending order (A → Z).
4. Hide the Helper Column (Optional): Once the data is sorted, you can hide the helper column if you don’t want it to be visible. Right-click the column letter and choose “Hide column”.

Best Practices for Sorting in Google Sheets

To ensure accurate and efficient sorting, follow these best practices:

• Back Up Your Data: Before performing any major sorting operations, especially on large datasets, it’s always a good idea to create a backup of your sheet. This allows you to revert to the original state if something goes wrong. You can create a copy of your sheet by going to File > Make a copy.
• Understand Your Data: Take the time to understand the structure and format of your data before sorting. Pay attention to data types (number, text, date) and any potential inconsistencies.
• Select the Correct Range: Carefully select the data range you want to sort. Make sure to include all relevant columns and rows, and don’t forget the header row if you have one.
• Check Data Types: Ensure that the columns you are sorting are formatted correctly. Numbers should be formatted as numbers, dates should be formatted as dates, and so on.
• Handle Blank Cells: Decide how you want to handle blank cells before sorting. Either fill them with a default value or delete the corresponding rows if necessary.
• Test Your Sorting: After sorting, double-check the results to ensure that the data is sorted correctly and that no unexpected changes have occurred.
• Use Filters for Temporary Sorting: If you only need to sort the data temporarily for analysis purposes, consider using filters instead of permanently sorting the data. Filters allow you to view a subset of your data based on certain criteria without changing the underlying order of the rows.

Conclusion

Sorting by number in Google Sheets is a fundamental skill that can significantly improve your data analysis and organization capabilities. By following the step-by-step instructions and troubleshooting tips in this guide, you can confidently sort your numerical data in Google Sheets on both PC and Mac. Remember to understand your data, select the correct range, and handle any potential issues such as incorrect formatting or blank cells. With practice, you’ll become proficient at sorting your data and unlocking valuable insights from your spreadsheets.