Excel 2013 not sorting properly

Question

I have a very simple spreadsheet to track expenses which contains only the following fields:

Date = column formatted as date 01-jan-16

Vendor name = text field

Expense Category = text field

Expense Amount = currency

Tax amount = currency

Detail = text field

I began entering receipts and sorted by date successfully and then saved the workbook.  On my return, I continued to enter receipts and attempted a sort on the date  field from oldest to newest.  Nothing happened.  I selected the entire workbook and tried again to sort by date - again nothing happened.  I saved the workbook and re installed office.  Upon opening the workbook on a clean install, it sorted properly. 

I then returned later to add more entries and attempted a sort .... again it does nothing.

It seems that my data formats are correct since a clean reinstall worked fine, but that Excel somehow 'forgets' how to sort when used again.

Please help

Answer 1

I had no add ins enabled and still was unable to sort. Ni sent you the file last week and have received no reply.  I was able to cut and paste the entries in date sort order, but this is not a solution.

Answer 2

Can you upload a short example file that we can download and play with. Make sure there is no personally sensitive data in it.

Upload the file to your OneDrive account, then get a Share > Edit link and past it in a reply here.

I suspect you are simply missing a step, making a mistaken assumption about how Sort works.  Here are a couple of tips on doing sorts. Maybe one of them will help you figure out what is going wrong:

Sorting Letters and Numbershttp://excelribbon.tips.net/T009600_Sorting_Letters_and_Numbers.html****Sorting information in a worksheet can be confusing when Excel applies sorting rules of which you are unaware. This is especially true when you are sorting a mixture of letters and numbers.

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Performing Complex Sorts http://excelribbon.tips.net/T007216_Performing_Complex_Sorts.html****One way you can easily work with data in a worksheet is to sort it into whatever order you find most helpful. Excel allows you to perform sorting ...

How to Sort Excel Date http://www.innatespreadsheet.com/dynamic-excel-reports-and-dashboards/excel-dashboards-reporting-techniques/sort-excel-date/ http://www.innatespreadsheet.com

I thought for several years that dates were a different kind of data, I assumed that the approach to Sort Excel Date was different from sorting numbers. The reason? The format is like mstical, the slashes / or dashes – evoke a special kind of information, look these two examples: 01/11/2002 or 01-11-2002.

Sorting an Entire List http://excelribbon.tips.net/T007222_Sorting_an_Entire_List.html****Need to sort all the data in a table? Here’s the fastest and easiest way to do it.

Sorting Dates by Monthhttp://excel.tips.net/T003183\_Sorting\_Dates\_by\_Month.html

Sorting by dates is easy, and you end up with a list that is in chronological order. However, things become a bit more tricky when you need to sort by month. Here are severa approaches you can use

Sorting Dates by Month, Take Twohttp://excel.tips.net/T002631_Sorting_Dates_by_Month_Take_Two.tml

Understanding Ascending and Descending Sortshttp://excelribbon.tips.net/T012399_Understanding_Ascending_and_Descending_Sorts.html ****When you sort information, Excel follows a set pattern of how your data is organized. This tip illuminates the burning question of what ordering Excel uses.

Answer 3

Hello Joe,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Office Community.

Let's cerate new file copy and paste contain to the new file and check if you are able to sort in new file.

You may also disable the add-ins by following steps mentioned below and determine if the problem causing add-in:

a) Click on File menu, click Options, Add-ins, Go button besides Manage: Com-in Add.

b) Check if there are add-ins listed, clear the checkbox. Now check if you are able to sort it.

If you are able sort the data with Add-in disabled Close the Office program and restart it. Enable each add-in one at a time, restart the Excel, and repeat the above procedure. If the issue reappears again, it will help you to determine which add-in is causing this issue.

If issue still persists, repair the Office suite following instructions mentioned in the article below and verify the result.

https://support.office.com/en-US/Article/Repair-Office-programs-7821d4b6-7c1d-4205-aa0e-a6b40c5bb88b?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

Keep us posted on the status and we will be glad to offer our assistance.

Thank you.