Excel SORTBY Function | Excel One Minute Quick Reference

Posted on: 10/18/2021

The SORTBY function in Excel sorts the contents of a range or array based on the values in a corresponding range or array. Use SORTBY to see a list of employees sorted by highest paid, but you don't show their salaries. USE SORTBY to sort a customer list by the most profitable customer but not see the revenue.

SORTBY has two required arguments, but you can sort by multiple criteria. You can use the SORTBY function on another worksheet or on another file or workbook.

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Syntax for SORTBY

=SORTBY(array, by_array1, [sort_order1], [by_array2, sort_order2],…)

Arguments for SORTBY

array - The array or range to sort - Required
by_array1 - The array or range to sort on - Required
[sort_order1] - The order to use for sorting. 1 for ascending, -1 for descending. Default is ascending.
[by_array2] - The array or range to sort on
[sort_order2] - The order to use for sorting. 1 for ascending, -1 for descending. Default is ascending

Versions of Excel the SORTBY function works in

Excel for Microsoft365
Excel for Microsoft 365 for Mac
Excel for the web
Excel 2021
Excel 2021 for Mac
Excel for iPad
Excel for iPhone
Excel for Android tablets
Excel for Android phones

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Chris Menard

Chris Menard is a Microsoft Trainer (MCT) and works as a full-time Trainer at BakerHostetler - one of the largest law firms in the US. Chris runs a YouTube channel with 900+ technology videos that cover various tools such as Excel, Word, Zoom, Teams, Gmail, Copilot, Google Calendar, and Outlook. To date, the channel has helped over 20 million viewers. Menard also does 2 to 3 public speaking events yearly, presenting at the Administrative Professional Conference (APC), the EA Ignite Conference, the University of Georgia, and CPA conferences. You can connect with him on LinkedIn at https://chrismenardtraining.com/linkedin or watch his videos on YouTube at https://chrismenardtraining.com/youtube.