Excel does this reliably once you know how, and it isn't hard to learn. I have OpenOffice on my computer rather than Microsoft Office, but they work almost exactly the same for this.
Assume you have a spreadsheet open. The first row has your column names (Spanish Name, Native Name, Usage and So On) and each row beneath is an entry:
First, click on the empty rectangle to the left of the "A" Column and above the "1" row. This will select the entire spreadsheet. (You can also press CTRL+A for "select all"):
Next, hold down CTRL and click on the "1" that labels the first row. This deselects the first row, leaving the rest of the spreadsheet selected:
Why have you done this? When you ask Excel or any spreasheet program to sort data in a spreasheet, it will sort the selected data. If no data are specifically selected, it assumes that you just want the entire spreadsheet sorted. This is a problem for you, because you don't want it to treat your column names as just another entry; you want them to stay at the top. But you do want the entirety of a row to move when you sort--you don't want, say, just the native names to be alphabetized while the rest of the data stays in place. When you click on a row or column label in Excel (I mean the numerals naming the rows or the letters naming the columns), you select that entire row or column. By selecting the entire spreadsheet and then deselecting the row with the column titles, you are effectively selecting every entire row except the one with those titles. That's what you want to sort.
With that done, go to "Data" and choose "Sort":
Choose which column you want to sort by and how you want it sorted. Right now the data are sorted by Spanish Name, in ascending order (i.e., A-Z rather than Z-A). Say that you wanted to sort by Native Name instead. Choose "Column B" from the drop-down menu and leave "Ascending" selected:
Now click "OK":
Voila: Things are alphabetized by Native Name, and you can verify that all of the data moved along with the native names:
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Date: 2010-04-05 06:21 pm (UTC)Assume you have a spreadsheet open. The first row has your column names (Spanish Name, Native Name, Usage and So On) and each row beneath is an entry:
First, click on the empty rectangle to the left of the "A" Column and above the "1" row. This will select the entire spreadsheet. (You can also press CTRL+A for "select all"):
Next, hold down CTRL and click on the "1" that labels the first row. This deselects the first row, leaving the rest of the spreadsheet selected:
Why have you done this? When you ask Excel or any spreasheet program to sort data in a spreasheet, it will sort the selected data. If no data are specifically selected, it assumes that you just want the entire spreadsheet sorted. This is a problem for you, because you don't want it to treat your column names as just another entry; you want them to stay at the top. But you do want the entirety of a row to move when you sort--you don't want, say, just the native names to be alphabetized while the rest of the data stays in place. When you click on a row or column label in Excel (I mean the numerals naming the rows or the letters naming the columns), you select that entire row or column. By selecting the entire spreadsheet and then deselecting the row with the column titles, you are effectively selecting every entire row except the one with those titles. That's what you want to sort.
With that done, go to "Data" and choose "Sort":
Choose which column you want to sort by and how you want it sorted. Right now the data are sorted by Spanish Name, in ascending order (i.e., A-Z rather than Z-A). Say that you wanted to sort by Native Name instead. Choose "Column B" from the drop-down menu and leave "Ascending" selected:
Now click "OK":
Voila: Things are alphabetized by Native Name, and you can verify that all of the data moved along with the native names:
HTH