7.0 and 5.0 for NT Sort Order Different from MS Excel 5.0 (131391)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel for Windows 95
  • Microsoft Excel for Windows NT 5.0
This article was previously published under Q131391

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel version 7.0 and Microsoft Excel for Windows NT (32 bit), the order that is used for sorting is different from that used for Microsoft Excel version 5.0 for Windows or the Macintosh (16 bit).

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because Microsoft Windows NT, and Microsoft Windows 95 use a different sort order than the Microsoft Windows version 3.x operating system.

The differences in sorting are described in the following sections:
  • Special Characters
  • Extended Characters
  • Case Sensitive

SPECIAL CHARACTERS

The following table displays the differences in the sort order of special characters in Microsoft Excel version 5.0 for Windows NT or Microsoft Excel version 7.0 from the order in Microsoft Excel version 5.0 for Windows or the Macintosh: 
   Microsoft Excel 5.0 for NT                 Microsoft Excel version 5.0
   or version 7.0 for Windows                 for Windows or the Macintosh
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
            A1: -                                        A1: !
            A2: !                                        A2: #
            A3: #                                        A3: $
            A4: $                                        A4: %
            A4: %                                        A5: &
            A6: &                                        A6:(
            A7: (                                        A7:)
            A8: )                                        A8: *
            A9: *                                        A9: +
           A10: ,                                       A10: ,
           A11: .                                       A11: -
           A12: ?                                       A12: .
           A13: @                                       A13: =
           A14: \                                       A14:?
           A15: ^                                       A15: @
           A16: _                                       A16: \ 
           A17: +                                       A17: ^
           A18: =                                       A18: _

EXTENDED CHARACTERS

When you sort extended characters (used, for example, in international versions) in Microsoft Excel version 5.0 for Windows NT or Microsoft Excel version 7.0, the international characters are sorted as US English alphabetic characters. In Microsoft Excel version 5.0 for Windows or the Macintosh, extended characters are sorted BEFORE alphabetic characters. The following table displays some of these differences. 
   List          Result in 5.0 for NT        Result in 5.0 for Windows
                       or 7.0                      or the Macintosh
  -------------------------------------------------------------------

   A1: b                A1: b                        A1: e*
   A2: e*               A2: e*                       A2: b
   A3: f                A3: f                        A3: f

   A1: a                A1: a                        A1: a**
   A2: a**              A2: a**                      A2: e***
   A3: e                A3: b                        A3: a
   A4: e***             A4: e                        A4: b
   A5: b                A5: e***                     A5: e

  * Lowercase e with the Umlaut character (ALT+0233)
 ** Lowercase a with the Caret character (ALT+0226)
*** Lowercase e with the Caret character (ALT+0234)

CASE SENSITIVE

When you select the Case Sensitive check box in the Sort Options dialog box (Ascending order, Top To Bottom), in Microsoft Excel version 5.0 for Windows NT and Microsoft Excel version 7.0, your list is sorted with the lowercase entries at the top of the list. Under the same conditions in Microsoft Excel version 5.0 for Windows, the list is sorted with the uppercase entries at the top of the list. The following table displays some of the differences. 
    List             Result in 5.0 for NT        Result in 5.0 for Windows
                       or 7.0                           or Macintosh
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
   A1: A                   A1: a                           A1: A
   A2: AAA                 A2: A                           A2: a
   A3: a                   A3: AAA                         A3: AAA

   A1: Add                 A1: add                         A1: ADD
   A2: ADd                 A2: Add                         A2: ADd
   A3: ADD                 A3: ADd                         A3: Add
   A4: add                 A4: ADD                         A4: add

REFERENCES

For more information about how to sort rows or columns of data in Microsoft Excel version 7.0, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel Help, type the following text

sorting data, r

and then double-click the selected text to go to the "Sort A List" topic.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:8/15/2005
Keywords:KB131391
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.