sort FUNCTION SPLITS DATA INTO TWO GROUPS

[Rick7708]

I'm using Excel '97. I had two versions of a spreadsheet I was using,
and copied several lines of data from one and pasted them into the
other. Now, when I sort the larger of the two the data separates into
two groups. The pasted data (or newly added data) sorts first, and
then the original material sorts as a second group. I've tried
reformatting the columns, etc. and an stumped. Any ideas?

 

[Trevor Shuttleworth]

Rick

assuming the data you are sorting on is numeric, it sounds as though one set
of data is truly numeric data and the other is seen by Excel as text
although it might look like numeric data. If this is the case, search the
archives for methods of forcing Excel to convert the text to numbers.

Alternatively, if the data IS text, perhaps you have one or more spaces at
the beginning of the values. This can happen when you do Text to Columns.
If this is the case, you could add a column and use TRIM to remove the
space(s).

Regards

Trevor

 

[Jon Peltier]

Quick and dirty test to number trick. Copy a blank cell, select the
range of text, and do Paste Special from the Edit menu, with the Values
and Operations - Add options.

- Jon
-------
Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP
Peltier Technical Services
http://PeltierTech.com/Excel/Charts/
_______

Rick

assuming the data you are sorting on is numeric, it sounds as though one set
of data is truly numeric data and the other is seen by Excel as text
although it might look like numeric data. If this is the case, search the
archives for methods of forcing Excel to convert the text to numbers.

Alternatively, if the data IS text, perhaps you have one or more spaces at
the beginning of the values. This can happen when you do Text to Columns.
If this is the case, you could add a column and use TRIM to remove the
space(s).

Regards

Trevor