Sorting by column in grouped rows of 3 or more

[CThaller]

Is there a way to sort grouped rows (organizing after sort in the same row grouping) by column?

Scenario: Rows are grouped by project time lines (1-Initial, 2-Actual and 3-Recovery) but need to be sorted by "projected completion" which are frequently subject to change thus requiring re-organizing by sort (I would accept filter features).

As of right now, when I sort, all rows with the date sort accordingly but everything else in the grouping

is sorted below out of context and thus useless. Any ideas or input would be greatly appreciated!

[#2]

@CThaller Please look into Custom Sort (link below). You can first sort by groups, then by completion date. I believe, that should solve your problem.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/sort-data-using-a-custom-list-cba3d67a-c5cb-406f-9b14-a02... 

[#3]

@CThaller 

Unlike Reny, as I understand your request you want to sort projects by Completion date, even when that Completion date is in a different row (then probably with a minor sort by project name...).

You did not provide sample data nor include a complete description of what you want. I've put together some data in the attached workbook.  All dates are shown in mm/dd/yyyy format.  (I have no idea what Recovery timeline data would be, but I have included a few rows for them.)

It is clear that you want the three (or more) rows for a project to remain grouped together. So I expect that the "Unravel the Gordian knot" project would sort based on a date of 11/16/2022. I don't know if your mention of "3 or more" indicates more than 3 possible timelines, or if it indicates multiple rows per timeline.

So which date is a project to be sorted by, if:

1. The project has Completion dates for all three timelines (see "Hunt snipe")?
2. The project has Completion dates for Initial and Actual timelines (see "Call the wind Mariah")?
3. The project has no Completion dates (see "Dream the impossible dream")? Put it far in the past (top of sorting results, if sorting ascending), or far into the future (bottom of sorting results, if sorting ascending)?
4. The project has multiple timeline rows per timeline, as would be the case if the tasks were broken out (see "Build planet #42" and "Storm the Castle Anthrax")?

You should also let us know which version of Excel you are using, so we better know which features are available to you.