How to sort by time in excel

To sort by time in Excel, follow these steps:

1. Select the range of cells containing time values
   Highlight the column or range that contains the times you want to sort. Ensure that the data is in a proper time format recognized by Excel (e.g., hh:mm:ss AM/PM or hh:mm in 24-hour format).

2. Open the Sort dialog

   • On Windows, go to the Data tab on the Ribbon and click Sort.

   • On Mac, go to the Data menu and select Sort.

3. Choose the column to sort by
   In the Sort dialog, select the column containing your time values in the Sort by dropdown menu.

4. Select the sort order

   • Choose Oldest to Newest to sort from the earliest time to the latest.

   • Choose Newest to Oldest to sort from the latest time to the earliest.

5. Confirm and apply
   Click OK to apply the sorting. Your time values will now appear in the chosen order.

Notes on sorting by time

1. Ensure all cells are formatted as Time. Excel may not sort correctly if some cells are formatted as Text.

   • To format, select the cells, right-click, choose Format Cells, select Time, and pick the desired format.

2. Include entire rows in your selection if your times are part of a dataset with other columns. This prevents misalignment of related data.

3. Hidden times or blanks
   Blank cells are sorted at the end when sorting from oldest to newest and at the beginning when sorting from newest to oldest.

4. AM and PM distinction
   Excel correctly differentiates AM and PM in time sorting. For example, 9:00 AM comes before 3:00 PM in ascending order.

5. 24-hour format handling
   Times entered as 14:30 (2:30 PM) are sorted automatically in chronological order with other 24-hour formatted times.

Example

Suppose you have the following times in column A:

Sorting from Oldest to Newest results in:

Sorting from Newest to Oldest results in:

This method ensures that your dataset remains consistent and times are chronologically ordered correctly.