Works: How to Sort Sections of a Spreadsheet (2.0 and 3.0) (125424)

SUMMARY

The Sort Rows command in the Spreadsheet module of Works for Windows will sort complete rows. To sort a section (specific columns) of a spreadsheet, copy and paste the section into a blank spreadsheet and perform the sort. Then copy and paste the sorted material back into the original.

NOTE: You can also use this technique to sort a tab-delimited list in a Word Processor document.

MORE INFORMATION

Create a spreadsheet in Works 3.0 such as the following, where the goal is to sort Pat's assets without affecting Will's:

     A               B         C              D
1   Pat's Assets             Will's Assets
2   Car            23600     Truck         14560
3   House        1234657     Motor cycle    2500
4   Cash           90873     Stocks         3500
5   Apple Trees     2365     Cash           1250
6                            Condo         87000

Select cells A2 through B5, and choose Copy from the Edit menu.

NOTE: If the spreadsheet contains column titles or calculations, such as subtotals, it is important that you do not select those rows. If the calculations are sorted with the rest of the data, the results may be incorrect.
From the File menu, choose Create New File and then choose the Spreadsheet button.
From the Edit menu, choose Paste.
From the Tools menu, choose Sort Rows, sorting by column A.
From the Edit menu, choose Copy.
From the File menu, choose Close and do not save changes.
Back in the original file, choose Paste from the Edit menu.

You can also use this technique (copying the data to a blank spreadsheet before performing the sort) to sort a tab-delimited list in a Word Processor document. When you paste the sorted data back into the document, use the Paste Special command instead of Paste and select Unformatted Text as the paste option. This pastes in the sorted list using the default font from the Word Processor document, not the font from the spreadsheet. It also eliminates the leading tab.