Alphabetize in Microsoft Word

Alphabetizing lists is a good skill to learn in word, especially if you find yourself dealing with directories and lists often. Luckily, the sorting process is quite simple once you learn how to access it. Follow this guide to learn how for any version of Word.

Steps

Using Word 2007/2010/2013

1. Open the file that you want to sort. You can also copy and paste the list of words that you want to sort into a document. In order to alphabetize the words, they need to be formatted as a list, with each entry on its own line.
2. Select the text that you want to sort. If your list is the only part of your document, you don't need to highlight anything. If you want to alphabetize a list that is part of a larger document, highlight the section that you want to sort.
3. Click the Home tab. In the Paragraph section of the Home tab, click the Sort button. The icon is an “A” above a “Z” with an arrow pointing down. This will open the Sort Text dialogue box.
4. Choose your order. By default, the sorting will happen by paragraph. Click the Ascending or Descending button to select which order the list should appear. Ascending will put the list in alphabetical order, and Descending will put the list in reverse alphabetical order.
   • If you want to sort by the second word for each entry (for example, by last name in a FIRST, LAST format), click the Options button in the Sort Text window. In the “Separate fields by” section, select Other and enter a single space. Press OK, and then select Word 2 in the Sort By menu. Press OK to sort the list.

Using Word 2003 and Earlier

1. Open the file that you want to sort. You can also copy and paste the list of words that you want to sort into a document. In order to alphabetize the words, they need to be formatted as a list, with each entry on its own line.
2. Select the text that you want to sort. If your list is the only part of your document, you don't need to highlight anything. If you want to alphabetize a list that is part of a larger document, highlight the section that you want to sort.
3. Click the Table menu. Select Sort. This will open the Sort Text dialogue box.
4. Choose your order. By default, the sorting will happen by paragraph. Click the Ascending or Descending button to select which order the list should appear. Ascending will put the list in alphabetical order, and Descending will put the list in reverse alphabetical order.
   • If you want to sort by the second word for each entry (for example, by last name in a FIRST, LAST format), click the Options button in the Sort Text window. In the “Separate fields by” section, select Other and enter a single space. Press OK, and then select Word 2 in the Sort By menu. Press OK to sort the list.

Tips

• You may need to click on the arrow pointing down at the bottom of an MS Word menu (such as the Table menu) in order to expand the menu and see all of the options.
• You can use MS Word as a sorting tool to alphabetize text in any software that allows you to paste text. Just alphabetize in Microsoft Word first and then copy the sorted list and paste it at other destinations.

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Sources and Citations

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