Sorting Rows in a Table
You can arrange values in some or all the cells in a column in ascending or descending
order. Rows containing cells being sorted are reordered. Header cells aren’t sorted.
Sorting takes into account values in hidden rows and hidden columns.
Here are ways to sort:
To sort an entire table by reordering all the cells in a column, select one of the
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column’s cells, open the Table inspector, click Table, and then choose Sort Ascending or
Sort Descending from the Edit Rows & Columns pop-up menu.
To sort part of a table by reordering some of the cells in a column, select the cells
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before choosing Sort Ascending or Sort Descending.
The following table describes how different types of data are sorted in ascending or
descending order.
Type of data
Ascending order
Descending order
Text
aA–zZ
Zz–Aa
Dates
Year (earliest first), then month
(January first), then day (1–31)
Year (most current first), then
month (December first), then
day (31–1)
Numbers
–2, –1, 0, 1, and so on
1, 0, –1, –2, and so on
Cells containing only text,
mixed with cells containing
only numbers
–2, –1, 0, 1, and so on, then
aA–zZ
Zz–Aa, then 1, 0, –1, –2, and so
on
Cells containing a mixture of
text and numbers
Values starting with numbers
first (1z, 1Z, a1, A1)
Values starting with text first
(A1, a1, 1A, 1z)
Empty cells
At the bottom
At the bottom
Boolean (TRUE, FALSE)
Below text and above an
empty cell
Above text
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Chapter 8
Using Tables
191
This chapter describes how to work with table cells and
their content.
Putting Content into Table Cells
Use a variety of techniques to add content to table cells.
To learn how to
Go to
Add, replace, copy, paste, and move table
cell values
“Adding and Editing Table Cell Values” on
page 191
Format and align text in table cells and use find-
and-replace and spell-checking features
“Working with Text in Table Cells” on page 192
Work with numeric table cell values
“Working with Numbers in Table Cells” on
page 193
Use autofilling to automatically repeat a cell
value in adjacent cells
“Autofilling Table Cells” on page 193
Adding and Editing Table Cell Values
You can add, change, and delete the content in cells.
Here are ways to add and edit values:
If the cell is empty, select it, and then type a value. “
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Selecting a Table Cell” on page 182
describes how to select cells.
To replace specific content already in the cell, select the cell, and then select what you
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want to replace by double-clicking; hold down the Shift key and select more content if
you want to replace more. Type to replace the selected content.
To replace everything in the cell, select the cell and then begin typing.
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If “Return key moves to next cell” isn’t selected in the Table inspector, you can also
select the cell and then press Return or Enter, which selects everything in the cell, and
then start typing.
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