Forum Discussion
How can I customize Excel's alphabetical sorting methods?
Molly629 It's a petty that you tagged your question with "Excel for Mac". I thought of a solution in Power Query, which is integrated in the PC version of Excel since 2016. On the Mac, however, you need to join the Insider Beta program to enjoy it.
I have, nevertheless, attached a file that contains a PQ solution, hoping that you can get your hands a PC or that you can become an Insider on Excel for the Mac.
Based on what you described, I believe the picture below illustrates the issue.
The blue table is the text you want sorted. The piece in the middle is how Excel sorts it. The green table is sorted via PQ, hoping I understood it correctly.
- Thanks so much for the fast response! Yes, I think that's just what I'm looking for... unfortunately I have a macbook from my work and I can't install any third-party software on it (admin password lock). Maybe they will roll out the feature officially one day? 😕 But I will keep this in mind if I ever need it on my personal PC, very good to know!
Hi again,
Just to keep you up to date, Mac Excel has full PowerQuery capabilities in the current channel build that you already have IF you are skilled in Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications. Click here for a web search with lots of useful links.
The object model of Excel for Mac and Windows, as well as the code base is the same regarding PowerQuery. What's currently absent in the general release build on the Mac is the PowerQuery interface. That's what is currently being tested.If you receive a workbook having a PowerQuery you can currently refresh the data in the Mac Excel interface, but not much else. But if you know VBA, you can use all PowerQuery functionality right now because Mac Excel has VBA (and you can also use AppleScript or Objective-C if you prefer).
