How to Alphabetize in Google Sheets

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By Victor Ashiedu

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This Itechguide teaches you how to alphabetize in Google Sheets. The guide covers steps to alphabetize in Google Sheets from a PC or the Google Sheets Android and iPhone Apps.

Option 1: Alphabetize Using a PC

  • Open Sheets.Google.com from your PC. Then login with your Google Account.
  • Open the Google Sheets spreadsheet with the data you want to alphabetize (sort). Here is a sample data for the demo in this guide.
How to Alphabetize in Google Sheets from a PC
  • Then select all the data you want to sort including their headers.
To select your data, click on the first cell – in this example B1. Then hold down your Shift key. Finally, click on the last cell.
How to Alphabetize in Google Sheets from a PC
  • With the cells you want to alphabetize selected, right-click any part of the selected cells. Then click Sort range.
  • At the Sort range pop up window, check the Data has a header row box. Then click the Sort by drop-down and select the header you want to sort your data by. Finally, select whether to sort by A -> Z or Z -> A, then click Sort.
  • The data will be alphabetized (sorted) alphabetically – words with A comes first, followed by words with B, and so on.
To ensure that your data (both columns) are sorted property, select both columns before sorting. Otherwise, the data will be misplaced. In this example, after sorting the data, I want to make sure that the students name columns tallies with their ages.

You can also alphabetize an entire sheet. Here is how…

  • Click the letter of the column you want to alphabetize (sort) by. In this example, I want to sort by Student Name column. So, I will click the letter B. The whole column will be selected.
  • Then right-click the column and select Sort sheet A -> Z or Sort sheet Z -> A.
  • After selecting the column, another way to sort will be to click Data. Then, from the list of displayed options, select your sort order.

Option 2: Alphabetize via the Android App

  • Open the Google Sheets App from your phone. Then, if you have not yet signed in, sign in with your Google Account.
How to Alphabetize in Google Sheets from the Android App
  • Open the spreadsheet with the data you want to alphabetize in Google Sheets.
  • Then, select the column you want to alphabetize. To select a column, tap on the letter on top of the column.
In this example, I want to sort by Student Name. So I will tap on letter B on top of the column – the whole column will be selected.
How to Alphabetize in Google Sheets from the Android App
  • With the column selected, tap the column again to display additional options. On the top right of the displayed options, tap the 3 dots. A new set of options will be displayed.
  • From the second displayed menu options, tap Sort A – Z or Sort Z – A.

Option 3: Alphabetize Through the iPhone App

  • Open the Google Sheets app on your iPhone. Then sign in with your Google Account.
 How to Alphabetize in Google Sheets from the iPhone App
  • Open the document you want to edit. If you opened the document recently you can find it the beneath Last opened by me group.
 How to Alphabetize in Google Sheets from the iPhone App
  • Alternatively, you could open the document from Google Drive. To access Google Drive from Google Sheets App, click the folder icon top right of the App.
How to Merge Cells in Google Sheets from the iPhone/iPad App
  • Then, select the column you want to sort by tapping the column number. In this example, I want to sort by column A (Division). So, I tapped A – the entire column will be selected.
  • With the column selected, tap it again to display another menu. Then, tap the arrow right of the last displayed menu 5 times until Sort A – Z and Sort Z – A are displayed.
  • Finally, to alphabetize in Google Sheets, tap either Sort A – Z or Sort Z – A.

It is this easy to alphabetize in Google Sheets! I hope you found the Itechguide helpful. If you found it helpful, click on “Yes” beside the “Was this page helpful” question below.

You may also express your thoughts and opinions by using the “Leave a Comment” form at the bottom of this page.

Finally, for more Google Itechguides, visit our Google How To page.

About the Author

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Victor Ashiedu

Victor is the founder of InfoPress Media, publishers of Ilifeguides and Itechguides. With 20+ years of experience in IT infrastructure, his expertise spans Windows, Linux, and DevOps. Explore his contributions on Itechguides.com for insightful how-to guides and product reviews.

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