Have you ever attempted to sort data that is not formatted
as a table? It can be quite a taxing chore—unless you take advantage of
Microsoft Word’s very handy Table Sort command. This command allows you to sort
any list of data.

For example, suppose you want to sort the following numbered
list alphabetically by state and then by city:

  1. Newark,
    NJ
  2. New
    York, NY
  3. Dover,
    DE
  4. Baltimore,
    MD
  5. Tucson,
    AZ
  6. Philadelphia,
    PA

To sort this data using Table Sort, follow these steps:

  1. Select
    the numbered list in your Word document.
  2. Go to
    Table | Sort.
  3. In the
    Sort By drop-down list, select Field 2.
  4. In the
    Then By drop-down list, select Field 1.
  5. Click
    the Options button.
  6. Select
    the Commas option.
  7. Click
    OK twice.

In addition to sorting data in numbered lists, you can also
use Table Sort to sort bulleted lists or any data separated by paragraph marks.
For example, you can use it to sort bibliographical entries by the author’s last
name. Simply select the entries in your bibliography, and then go to Table | Sort
and choose Paragraphs in the Sort By drop-down list and then click OK.

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