How to sort multiple columns independently by date order that have text in the same row in Excel?

Question

How to sort multiple columns by date order that have text in the same row in Excel Professional Plus 2024?&nbsp;I'm trying to create a spreadsheet with multiple columns that has text as well as dates &amp; I need to be able to sort each column independent of the other columns with the oldest date&nbsp; first no matter what row the data was put in.&nbsp;date of incoming order from:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;date of payment from:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; date of outgoing order from:4-5-25&nbsp; ABC Company&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 4-23-25&nbsp; XYZ Company&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;4-25-25&nbsp; &nbsp;EFG Company3-7-25&nbsp; &nbsp;EFG Company&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 4-19-25 ABC Company&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 5-9-25&nbsp; XYZ Company4-11-25&nbsp; &nbsp;XYZ Company&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;4-12-25&nbsp; &nbsp;EFG Company&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 4-23-25&nbsp; ABC Company&nbsp;Thanks for any help!&nbsp;

m_tarler · Answer

You should be able to highlight those 2 columns and hit sort and then repeat for each of the other column pairs.&nbsp; (works in Excel 365)

adelnnozark · Answer

In Excel, you can independently sort each column by selecting only the cells (excluding the header) and using the "Sort" option under the "Data" tab. This lets you sort each column by date from oldest to newest without affecting the other columns.

sheethappensxl · Answer

What youre trying to do, sorting each column independently while keeping the text paired with its date — isn't possible with standard sort features since Excel sorts entire rows together by default. But I'm pretty sure you can work around this by splitting each column into its own mini-table. Just separate the columns into different ranges (side by side if needed), and sort each one individually using the "Sort A to Z" option within that column's range.

If you want something more automated you could use formulas to extract and sort dates dynamically with the SORTBY or FILTER functions (if you're using Excel 365 or Excel 2021+ features), but for a static sort in Excel Professional Plus 2024, separating the columns and sorting them one at a time is your best bet.

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How to sort multiple columns independently by date order that have text in the same row in Excel?

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