sorting numbers in a column

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kailuamike - 19 Dec 2005 00:50 GMT

Problem: The numbers I am sorting are composed of various numbers of
integers, some having four digits, others five or six, and so on. I
would like to have them sort by number regardless of number of digits.
Will Excel let me do this?
example: presently it looks like this:
3004
12001656
530393505
2200498378

and I really want it to sort like this:
12001656
2200498378
3004
530393505

Can this be done?

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kailuamike

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Max - 19 Dec 2005 01:11 GMT

One way is to use a helper col to convert the col of numbers to text,
then sort both cols by the helper col

Assume the numbers are in A1 down
Put in B1, copy down: =TEXT(A1,"@")
Now sort both cols A & B by col B, ascending
--
Rgds
Max
xl 97
---
Singapore, GMT+8
xdemechanik
http://savefile.com/projects/236895
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> Problem: The numbers I am sorting are composed of various numbers of
> integers, some having four digits, others five or six, and so on. I
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> kailuamike's Profile: http://www.excelforum.com/member.php?action=getinfo&userid=29558
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David McRitchie - 19 Dec 2005 02:58 GMT

Hi Kailua,
A user defined function as follows will convert everything
to text and allow for leading zeros which you have not shown.

Function ShowAsText(cell) returns string
ShowAsText = "'" & cell.text 'single quote within double quotes
End Function

B1 = ShowAsText(A1)
or
B1 = personal.xls!ShowAsText(A1)

Would suggest formatting the B column as text, but the above
function will precede by a single quote so you don't have to format
as text before using the fill handle to fill down.
---
HTH,
David McRitchie, Microsoft MVP - Excel [site changed Nov. 2001]
My Excel Pages: http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/excel.htm
Search Page: http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/search.htm

> Problem: The numbers I am sorting are composed of various numbers of
> integers, some having four digits, others five or six, and so on. I
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
> Can this be done?

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