Sort Excel Workbook Alphabetically

[zingo1327]

I have a Excel workbook consisting of 7 columns of names. I've tried sorting the names A to Z style and it seems to work in column "A" but as I sort columns "B" to "G" the columns don't stay in alphabetical order. How can I sort all 7 columns alphabetically at the same time?? My operating system is Windows 10
Thank you in advance.

[bednobs]

So are you saying you don't want each column to sort along with th column next to it? You want to put a different sort on each column?

[bednobs]

if that is the case, when you highlight the column you want to sort it's come up with a box that says something along the lines of "you have data next to this which wont be sorted, what do you want to do" you need toclick the secon optionof "continue with current selection"

[ToraToraTora]

ok so is each column unrelated to the others? have you merely entered names in five columns but want them up and down individually? If so then when you sort, select the columns individually then choose no when it asks if you want to expand the selection.

[New Judge]

I don't understand what you mean.

When you sort by a column (let's say column A) each row is treated as a self-contained record and all the column entries in (say) row 10 will move along with the entry in cell A10. So if Row 10 contains (from A10 to G10)Linda, Jeff, Alan, Sue, Steve, Roy and Chris as your seven entries, that row in its entirety will finish up wherever "Linda" finishes up in the sorted list. I'm not sure what you mean that columns B to G do not stay in alphabetical order. They won't (unless by chance).

[ToraToraTora]

judge i think all the columns are surnames and zingo wants the next name after the last in col a to be the top of col b and so on like a multi column book index. Not the usual way of using excel.

[New Judge]

Then the only way I can think of doing that is to list all the names in one column, sort it and then split it into seven columns.

[zingo1327]

Sorry guys. I never described the problem properly. I'm an avid novels reader and I need to put down on paper the novels I've read so I don't buy the same ones again. I've opened an Excel book using columns "A" to "G" with each column containing the titles of 50 novels (that's 7 x 50 book titles and it's growing every week).
I'd like to sort them as one alphabetically continuous list (On as few A4 pages as possible). I realise I could sort column "A" and print it off and so on but that means looking through 7 pages of novel titles in a busy Waterstones bookshop.At the moment I get by with 2 sheets of A4 paper but as I say it is not all in alphabetical order. Hope this clears up my situation. Thanks in advance

[ToraToraTora]

ok then you need to sort each column individually but answer no when it asks if you want to expand the selection. Another way is to put them all in 1 column sort it then cut that entire column and past into a word document that is defined as 7 columns. Bit of a faff but excel does not work well with things like you are attempting.

[Gettingonabit]

Couldn't you email the list to your phone and view it on there. Save you printing it out . I send an updated spreadsheet monthly to my phone and save it no problem at all.

[JimF]

Do you also have Word, or any similar word processor? If you, you can do this very easily by pasting the entire list and then splitting the page into as many columns as you like.

Alternatively, you need to implement "snaking columns" in Excel. This may sound a bit daunting, but it's pretty simple.

Follow the instructions here:

[New Judge]

Trouble is, Jim, as far as I can see, the columns "snake" from left to right, viz:

A B C D E
F G H I J
KL M N O

I think zingo wants

A F K
B G L
C H M
D I N
E J O

The first arrangement may suit zingo. He'll have to tell us.

[ToraToraTora]

as I said at 19:17 I think one column pasted into a multi column word doc is the way forward.