Sort columns

Complete the following steps to sort the values in one or more columns of data.

To open the dialog box, do one of the following:
- Choose Data > Sort.
- Right-click in the worksheet and choose Sort Columns > Custom Sort.
Under Columns to sort by, enter the columns that contain the values to sort by and specify how to sort each column:
- Increasing: Sort values in increasing order (for example, 1, 2, 3 or A, B, C).
- Decreasing: Sort values in decreasing order (for example, 3, 2, 1, or C, B, A).
Minitab sorts the data by the first column that you enter, then sorts those results by the next column that you enter, and so on.
From Columns to sort, select one of the following:
- All columns: Sort all the columns in the worksheet.
- Specified columns: Sort specified columns. Enter the columns to sort.
From Storage location for the sorted columns, select one of the following storage options:
- In the original columns: Replace the original columns with the sorted columns.
- At the end of the current worksheet: Put the sorted columns after the last column that contains values in the worksheet.
- In specified columns of the current worksheet: (This option is available only if you are sorting specified columns.) Put the sorted columns in the columns that you specify. In Columns, enter a column number (for example, C6) or a column name for each column that you are sorting. If the column name has more than one word, enclose the name in single quotation marks.
- In a new worksheet: Put the sorted columns in a new worksheet. In Name, enter a name for the new worksheet.
- At the end of a specified worksheet: Put the sorted columns after the last column that contains values in the open worksheet that you specify. From Worksheet, select the worksheet to store the sorted columns in.

Tip

To remove the retained setting and variables, in the dialog box, press the F3 key to reset them.