How to sort by color in Excel

Sorting is one of the common data analysis practices that is performed on any dataset. Dataset sorting allows users to conclude and visualize the data quickly. Microsoft Excel has sorting features that help user to analyze the dataset. In this article, we will discuss ways of sorting Excel datasets by color.

To sort Excel datasets by cell color

Cell color is the background color of the cells in Excel. Users can sort the dataset depending on the color of the cell color. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Open the Excel application.

2. Open the Excel document that you wish to sort the dataset.

3. Highlight the cells to be sorted. To highlight, press the Left mouse key, and then move the cursor around the region you want to select.

4. Click the Home tab on the ribbon, and locate the Editing section. Under this section, click on the Sort & Filter drop-down button.

5. From the drop-down menu, choose the Custom Sort button. A Sort dialogue box will open.

6. On the dialogue box, check the "My data has headers" checkbox if your data has headers.

7. Next, locate the Column section, and click the Sort By drop-down button. From the menu, choose the column you want.

8. Then, locate the Sort On section, and choose the Cell Color option from the drop-down menu.

9. Choose the order of sorting you want to apply to your dataset from the Order section.

10. Finally, hit the OK button to apply the changes made.

To sort Excel datasets by Font color.

Font color is the color of the fonts in the dataset. You can as well sort your data based on font color. Here are the steps to do so:

1. Open the Excel application.

2. Open the Excel document that you wish to sort the dataset.

3. Highlight the cells to be sorted. To highlight, press the Left mouse key, and then move the cursor around the region you want to select.

4. Click the Home tab on the ribbon, and locate the Editing section. Under this section, click on the Sort & Filter drop-down button.

5. From the drop-down menu, choose the Custom Sort button. A Sort dialogue box will open.

6. On the dialogue box, check the "My data has headers" checkbox if your data has headers.

7. Next, locate the Column section, and click the Sort By drop-down button. From the menu, choose the column you want.

8. Then, locate the Sort On section, and choose the Font Color option from the drop-down menu. Next, choose the order of sorting you want to apply to your dataset from the Order section.

9. Next to the Order section, click on the drop-down button and choose where the ordering of the colors should start. On Top indicates the ordering of the colors will begin at the Top of the selected list. On the other side, On Bottom means, the arrangement of the colors will start at the Bottom of the setlist.

10. Finally, hit the OK button to apply the changes made