Excel Video 39 shows a new feature in Excel 2007, the ability to sort by color. You can sort by cell color, by font color, or by cell icon. Watch this video and learn how to teach Excel the specific sort order you prefer for the colors or icons you’re using. Excel does a good job capturing all of the colors or icons in the range you’re sorting in the Custom Sort dialog box. Here’s how to use custom sorts to get just the results you’re looking for. Also watch for a shortcut to sort the current cell color, font color, or cell icon to the top of the list without having to go through all of the Custom Sort menus. Excel supports up to 64 sorting levels in Custom Sort, so you’re sure to have all of the flexibility you need when sorting tables.
I mention this in the video, but typically when you sort in Excel you need to carefully define the spreadsheet range you want to sort so that you don’t inadvertently leave cells above, below, or to either side of the range out of the sorted results. When you sort in tables, Excel assumes you want to sort the entire table based on the sorting criteria. This assumption saves you the step of defining the sort range and makes sorting faster and easier in tables.
Color can make your presentations easier for your busy physicians to understand and digest. If you’ve never tried sorting by color, give it a try.
