Sort Excel 2013's Data Lists on Font and Fill Colors and Cell Icons
In Excel you normally sort the records of a data list or rows of a table on the values (entries) contained in one or more columns of the list or table; however, Excel 2013 also enables you to sort on the font or fill color or cell icons that you assign to them.
These colors and icons are assigned by using the Conditional Formatting feature to mark those values in the columns of a data list or table that are within or outside certain parameters with a distinctive font or fill colors or cell icon.
To sort a data list on a font color, fill color, or cell icon in a single field of the table, you click its AutoFilter button and then choose the Sort by Color option from the drop-down menu. Excel then displays a continuation menu on which you click the font color, fill color, or cell icon to use in the sort:
To sort the records so that those with a particular font color in the selected column — assigned with the Conditional Formatting Highlight Cell Rules or Top/Bottom Rules options — appear at the top of the data list, click its color swatch in the Sort by Font Color section on the continuation menu.
To sort the records so that those with a particular fill color in the selected column — assigned with the Conditional Formatting Highlight Cell Rules, Top/Bottom Rules, Data Bars, or Color Scales options — appear at the top of the data list, click its color swatch in the Sort by Font Color section on the continuation menu.
To sort the records so that those with a particular cell icon in the selected column — assigned with the Conditional Formatting Icon Sets options — appear at the top of the data list, click the icon in the Sort by Cell Icon section of the continuation menu.
You can also sort the data list on more than one color or cell icon in the Sort dialog box opened by selecting the Custom Sort option from the Sort & Filter button’s drop-down list on the Ribbon’s Home tab or on the Sort by Color continuation menu.
When you want to sort the records in a data list on more than one font or fill color or cell icon, you select the field with the color or icon from the Column drop-down list; select Font Color, Fill Color, or Cell Icon in the Sort On drop-down list; and then click the color swatch or icon to use in the first level of the sort in the Order drop-down list.
If you need to add another sort level, you click the Add Level button and then repeat this procedure of selecting the field in the Column drop-down list, selecting the Font Color, Fill Color, or Cell Icon in the Sort On drop-down list, and selecting the specific color or icon in the Order drop-down list.
When you finish defining all the levels for the sort, click OK to have Excel go ahead and sort the list’s records.
You can sort the records in the data list order by all the fill colors or cell icons assigned by applying the Conditional Formatting Color Scales and Cell Icons options.
For each of three or five sorting levels you define in the Sort dialog box, the name of the field in the Column drop-down list button remains the same in all levels along with the Fill Color or Cell Icon option in the Sort On drop-down list button.
Only the actual color or icon selected in the Order drop-down list button changes, reflecting the order in which you want to see the records appear in the sorted data list.
Excel Glossary
active cell
The worksheet cell that contains the cell cursor. Each worksheet can have only one active cell.
Excel Glossary
AutoComplete
A feature that looks at the entries that you make in a worksheet column and automatically duplicates them in subsequent rows whenever you start a new entry that begins with the same letter or letters as an existing entry in that column.
Excel Glossary
AutoCorrect
A feature that alerts Excel 2007 to common typing errors and your own typing errors (that you specify) and tells the program how it should automatically fix them for you.
Excel Glossary
AutoFill
An Excel 2007 feature that quickly creates a series of entries based on the data you enter in one or two cells. AutoFill works with days of the week, months of the year, yearly quarters; consecutive series of numbers; and formulas. You also can add your own custom AutoFill series.
Excel Glossary
AutoFilter
A feature in Excel 2010 that enables you to temporarily hide everything in a table except the records you specifically want to view, based on criteria you specify.
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Backstage view
A new feature in Excel 2010 — accessible from the green File tab — that enables you to manage files and to view the properties and stats about the workbook file you're editing.
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cell
The intersection of a column and row in the worksheet.
Excel Glossary
cell address
The cell identifier, determined by its column letter(s) followed by the row number, as in cell A1, the very first cell of each worksheet at the intersection of column A and row 1.
Excel Glossary
cell cursor
The black border that surrounds the active cell in a worksheet.
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clip art
Readymade drawings, illustrations, and photos offered by Microsoft for use in Microsoft Office applications.
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Compatibility Checker
A utility in Excel 2007 and 2010 that you use to find potential compatibility issues if you plan to save an Excel workbook file in the older Excel 97–2003 file format.
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current cell
The worksheet cell that contains the cell cursor. Each worksheet can have only one current cell.
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data table
A range of cells in a worksheet in which you enter a series of possible values that Excel plugs into a formula so you can perform what-if analysis on the data.
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dialog box
A rectangular window with settings and commands that appears when you click a dialog box launcher or certain other commands on the Ribbon.
Excel Glossary
dialog box launcher
A small icon in the lower-right corner of a group of command buttons on the Ribbon that you click to access a dialog box with additional related settings and commands.
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function
A part of a formula that takes a number of specific arguments and then returns a single value based on those arguments.
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gallery
A drop-down list of thumbnail selections that appears when you click certain command buttons on the Ribbon.
Excel Glossary
group
A section of a tab on the Excel 2007 Ribbon that organizes related command buttons into subtasks normally performed as part of the tab's larger core task. The name of a group appears at the bottom of the group, such as the Font group on the Home tab.
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hyperlink
Specially formatted text that anyone can click to jump to Web sites, move to other cells or workbooks, or create an e-mail message.
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keyboard shortcuts
A combination of keys that you can press to execute certain commands, as opposed to finding and clicking the commands' buttons on the Ribbon or elsewhere.
Excel Glossary
Live Preview
A feature in Excel 2007 that enables you to point to thumbnails on a drop-down gallery to see how a new font, font size, table style, or cell style would look on your selected data before you actually apply it.
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macro
A series of commands or actions in Excel that are recorded and saved together in a file. You can run the macro whenever you need to perform the task.
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Name box
The left-most section of the Formula bar that displays the address or name of the current cell.
Excel Glossary
pivot table
A special type of table unique to Excel 2007 that enables you to summarize large amounts of data and pivot or rearrange the table's data to display different summaries of the information it contains.
Excel Glossary
Ribbon
A new feature of the Excel 2007 interface that replaces the menus and toolbars of previous versions; appears at the top of the Excel window, just below the title bar.
Excel Glossary
ScreenTip
A small window that displays descriptive text when you point to but don't click a command on the Ribbon or other objects in a worksheet.
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Small tabs near the bottom of a worksheet that you click to move between the worksheets in a workbook. You can assign descriptive names to sheet tabs.
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slicers
New graphic objects in Excel 2010 that enable you to quickly filter the contents of a PivotTable on more than one field.
Excel Glossary
SmartArt
A type of graphic object in Excel 2007 that gives you the ability to quickly and easily construct graphical lists and diagrams in the worksheet.
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sparklines
Tiny graphs (miniature charts) that fit within a single cell in the worksheet, used to show basic trends in data.
Excel Glossary
Status bar
A horizontal bar that appears at the bottom of the Excel 2007 window and keeps you informed of Excel's current mode. In addition, you can use the Status bar to select a new worksheet view and to zoom in and out on the worksheet.
Excel Glossary
tabs
The various "pages" of Excel 2007's Ribbon interface that you click to display command buttons relating to the tab's name, such as Page Layout and Formulas.
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template
A pre-designed worksheet that can be used as a basis for creating new worksheets.
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WordArt
Stylized text objects that you use to add pizzazz and emphasis to headings and other text in Excel 2007 worksheets.
Excel Glossary
workbook
The basic file type that you create when you use Excel 2007. A new workbook consists of three worksheets by default.
Excel Glossary
worksheet
The main document that you work in when you enter data into cells within Excel 2007. A worksheet is stored in a workbook file.
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worksheet area
The portion of an Excel 2007 worksheet in which you enter cell data and add objects such as charts and graphics.
Excel Glossary
XPS XML Paper Specification
A file format developed by Microsoft that enables people to open and print documents in XPS Reader without access to the original programs with which the documents were created (such as Excel).
Excel Glossary
Zoom slider
An object on the Status bar in Excel 2007 that enables you to increase the magnification in a worksheet or shrink it down to get an overall picture of the worksheet data.
