How can I sort text (in excel) while ignoring articles (e.g., the

[Guest]

I work in a library and want to sort lists of CD titles. I want to sort the
list alphabetically while ignoring articles (e.g., the, a, an) when they
appear as the first word in the title.

 

[Nicky]

Hi
I don't think you can do this.
what might work is to include the names in an adjacent column an
eliminate the articles, then sort on that.
For example, this formula will eliminate the words "The ", "An " and "
" from the left of the text in cell A1 (note the addition of a spac
after the word in the formula, to prevent all words begining with "A
being cropped):

=IF(LEFT(A1,2)="A ",RIGHT(A1,LEN(A1)-2),IF(LEFT(A1,3)="A
",RIGHT(A1,LEN(A1)-3),IF(LEFT(A1,4)="The ",RIGHT(A1,LEN(A1)-4),A1))

 

[Jim Cone]

A commercial application by yours truly...
http://www.officeletter.com/blink/specialsort.html
Jim Cone
San Francisco, USA


"happy1" <[email protected]>
wrote in message...
I work in a library and want to sort lists of CD titles. I want to sort the
list alphabetically while ignoring articles (e.g., the, a, an) when they
appear as the first word in the title.