Excel Sort Order: How WPS Spreadsheets Sorts Numbers, Dates, Text, and Logical Values
Question details
The user needs to understand the exact ascending sort sequence used by spreadsheet software for mixed data types, including numbers, dates, text, and logical values.
- Product
- WPS Office Spreadsheets
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Sorting or preparing to sort a spreadsheet column or table that contains mixed data types such as numbers, dates, text, and TRUE/FALSE values.
- Observed behavior
- In ascending order, numbers and dates sort first as numeric values; text follows by Unicode/ASCII character order without case sensitivity; logical values TRUE and FALSE appear after text.
Open the workbook in WPS Spreadsheets and confirm whether your range includes a header row, because sorting a selection without a header can move header cells into the data.
Sort a Table in Ascending Order in WPS Spreadsheets
Use this to arrange rows from smallest to largest while preserving the Excel-compatible order for numbers, dates, text, and logical values.
WPS Spreadsheets follows the same ascending sort order as Excel. Numbers are sorted first from smallest to largest, and dates and times are evaluated as numeric values.
Text follows according to character code order such as Unicode/ASCII without distinguishing uppercase from lowercase, and logical values TRUE/FALSE are placed after text.
Open the workbook in WPS Office, then drag to select all rows and columns you want to sort. Include the header row if there is one.
Go to the Data tab on the ribbon and click Sort, or use Sort Ascending for a quick single-column sort.
In the Sort dialog, select the column that contains numbers, dates, text, or logical values from the Column list and choose Ascending.
If the selected range has headers, check Header row; otherwise leave it unchecked, then click OK.
Verify the Mixed Data Type Sort Order with Sample Values
Use this when you want to confirm how WPS Spreadsheets sequences numbers, dates, text, and logical values before sorting a large dataset.
Sort Mixed Data in WPS Spreadsheets with Excel-Compatible Ascending Order
WPS Spreadsheets can directly sort mixed values using the Excel-compatible ascending order: numbers and dates sort as numeric values, text follows by Unicode/ASCII order, and TRUE/FALSE logical values appear last. Use the Data tab to apply the sort without converting or rebuilding the workbook.
- 1. Open your workbook: Launch WPS Office and open the .xlsx or .xls file that contains the data to sort.
- 2. Select the target data: Drag to select the table range, or click any cell in the column you want to use as the sort key.
- 3. Open the sort options: Click the Data tab and then click Sort to open the Sort dialog.
- 4. Apply ascending order: Choose the sort column and set Order to Ascending, then click OK.
- 5. Review the result: Check that numbers and dates appear first, text follows, and TRUE/FALSE logical values appear last.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does WPS Spreadsheets use the same ascending sort order as Excel?
Yes. WPS Spreadsheets sorts numbers first from smallest to largest, treats dates and times as numeric values, then sorts text by Unicode/ASCII character order without case distinction, and places TRUE/FALSE logical values after text.
Why are dates sorted as numbers instead of text?
In WPS Spreadsheets and Excel, dates and times are stored as serial numeric values, so they are sorted chronologically among the numeric group when the cells are properly formatted as dates.
How do I sort a column that contains both numbers and text?
Select the entire table range, go to the Data tab, click Sort, choose the mixed column, and set the order to Ascending. Numbers appear before text, and within each data type the values are sorted by their own rules.
Does an uppercase letter sort before a lowercase letter?
No. Ascending text sort does not distinguish uppercase from lowercase; the order follows the character code values, so 'Apple' and 'apple' are treated equivalently for case.
Why do TRUE and FALSE values appear at the bottom after sorting?
This is the expected ascending sort order. Logical values are treated as a separate data type and are placed after text; within logical values, FALSE precedes TRUE in ascending order.
