Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Sorting a Text Selection.

Sorting a Text Selection

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 3, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


1

As you use Word, there will be numerous times when you need to rearrange a list of items. Word provides a sorting tool that makes rearranging lists easy. To sort a selection of text, follow these steps:

  1. Select the text containing the list to be sorted. Make sure only the list is selected.
  2. Choose the Sort option from the Table menu. Word displays the Sort Text dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Sort Text dialog box.

  4. In the Sort Type drop-down list, select the type of sorting you want Word to perform. For instance, if the first information in your text list represents a date, you would choose Date as the Sort Type.
  5. Using the radio buttons, indicate whether the sort should be Ascending or Descending.
  6. Click on OK.

The Sorting function in Word is rather basic. If you need to do more advanced sorting consider copying your data into Excel or pasting an Excel spreadsheet object into your Word document.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1098) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Sorting a Text Selection.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Assigning Macros to Graphics

The graphics you place in a worksheet can do more than just look pretty. You can also assign macros to a graphic, which ...

Discover More

Conditionally Formatting Non-Integers

The conditional formatting capabilities of Excel are very helpful when you want to call attention to different values ...

Discover More

Hiding Table Rows on a Printout

When you work with tables in your document, you may want to hide some of rows in those tables so that they don't print ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Sorting Text

Word makes it easy to sort the information that is contained in your document. Here's how to accomplish this.

Discover More

Controlling How Word Sorts Text

Word has a very orderly way in which it sorts information, but that orderly method may not meet what you need to have ...

Discover More

Sorting an Album List

Word allows you to easily sort the information you store in a document. If you want to sort information as groups of ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 5 + 1?

2020-06-27 17:24:01

Gerard Colby

How do I correct footnote numbering that is out of sequence, ,i.e., footnoting, after deletions and editing and insertions, is suddenly out of sequence and won't let me correct it, always inserting the wrong footnotes from an earlier edition. I want the footnote numbers to be sequential in the new edition.


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.