Select a Range to Be Sorted in Excel
Before data can be sorted, Excel needs to know the exact range to sort. Excel can automatically include related data in a range so long as there are no blank rows or columns within the selected area. Blank rows and columns between areas of related data are okay. Excel then determines if the data area has field names and excludes those rows from the records to be sorted. Allowing Excel to select the range to be sorted is fine for small amounts of data. However, for large areas of data, the easiest way to ensure that the correct range is selected is to highlight it before sorting. If the same range is to be sorted repeatedly, the best approach is to give the range a name. If a name is defined for the range to be sorted, type the name in the Name Box, or select it from the associated drop-down list. This way, Excel automatically highlights the correct range of data in the worksheet. Any sorting requires the use of sort order. When sorting by values, there are two possible sort orders: ascending and descending. However, when sorting by colors, no such order exists, so you must manually define the color sort order.
How to Sort by Cell Background Color in Excel
In the example below, the records of students age 20 and younger are highlighted in red. To sort the data by cell background color so that the red entries appear on top:
How to Sort by Font Color in Excel
In the example below, the records of students enrolled in nursing programs appear in red, and those enrolled in science programs are blue. To sort the data by font color:
How to Sort by Icon in Excel
Icon sets offer an alternative to regular conditional formatting options that focus on the font and cell formatting changes. The example below contains dates and temperatures that have been conditionally formatted with the stoplight icon set based on the daily maximum temperatures. Follow these steps to sort the data so that records displaying the green icons are grouped first, followed by the yellow icons, and then the red icons:
