To sort by color in Google Sheets is one of the best methods to organize and visualize data. You need to use the Filter tool and then the “Sort by color” option in Google Sheets to be able to sort data by cell or text color.
Color-coded data is easy to scan and quickly addresses the most important cells in the table.
It is a recent upgrade to Google Sheets. The ability to sort by color has been available to users since March 2020.
You have the option to sort by either cell background or text color in Google Sheets.
In this article, let us quickly learn how to sort datasets by color in Google Sheets. It is going to be a short guide full of helpful information. We will also discuss various scenarios, including multiple colors and combined sorting, so read this article until the end.
Below are the topics we are about to discuss. Click on the links to jump to the particular section of your interest.
Download the Example Spreadsheet
You can practice what we will discuss further in this article for better understanding.
If you have your own color-coded Google Sheet ready, you can skip copying the following file.
Or else, we would suggest copying the Example Google Sheet and following me along as I move through the article.
Click Here! to Copy Example File
How to Sort by Cell Background Color in Google Sheets?
It is the most common technique for analyzing datasets using color codes. Here, the table’s most crucial cell or row backgrounds are colored.
Here are the steps you need to follow to sort data by background color,
- Open the Google Sheet
- Go to the spreadsheet containing the color-coded data table
- Click on any cell of the table
- Hover to the toolbar section below the main menu
- Click on the Filter icon
- It will create filters for each column, and a funnel icon will appear in the header column as below
- Click on that funnel icon to see the range of options available for sorting and filtering the data
- Now, from the popup, you need to select the option “Sort by color.”
- A new popup will appear; click on “Fill Color.”
- Next, you will see a range of background colors available for sorting
- Click on the color “green.”
You will notice that all the rows containing green as the background color are moved to the top.
Another color option at the end of the Fill Color list that says “white” is for the cells with no background color.
In case you want the green-colored cells at the bottom of the list, then go ahead and select “white” as the Fill Color. It will move green-colored cells to the button and the cells that are either white-colored or have no background color at the top.
How to Sort by Text Color in Google Sheets?
The process for sorting the dataset by text color is very similar to the one discussed above.
This method will deal with the dataset with colored text instead of colored cell background.
- Open the Google Sheet
- Go to the spreadsheet containing the data table with colored text
- Select any cell of the table
- Hover to the toolbar section sitting below the main menu
- You will find the filter icon at the far left of the toolbar section. Click on that to enable filters for your table
- It will instantly create filters for each column, and a funnel icon will appear in the header column as below
- By clicking on the funnel icon, you will see the range of options available for sorting and filtering the data
- Now, you need to choose the option “Sort by color.”
- A new popup will appear; click on “Text Color.”
- Next, you will see a range of text colors available for sorting
- Click on the color “red.”
It will instantly move all the cells containing green-colored text at the top.
In case you wish to move the cells with green-colored text to the bottom, use the second or the last color choice from the list that says “black.”
The above two scenarios are common, and things are supposed to get complicated when we deal with sorting datasets available in multiple colors. Sometimes, you may wish to sort one column alphabetically and another one by cell or text color.
Let us discuss them in the following sections.
How do you sort by Multiple Colors in Google Sheets?
Sorting by multiple colors in Google Sheets uses the same methods discussed above. But you need to be creative to some extent while doing so.
Consider, for example, the following image where the green colored cells are at the top, cyan in the middle, and yellow at the bottom.
Note that you cannot start with a green color for sorting in this sequence, as it will move it to the bottom.
In other words, the first color you will select for sorting will move below the second number in the sequence, and so on.
You are supposed to select the yellow first, then cyan, and finally green to obtain the output, as we saw in the above image.
- Open the Google Sheet
- Open the spreadsheet containing the color-coded data table
- Click on any cell of the table
- Enable filters for your table by hovering over the toolbar section
- You will see a funnel icon appear in the header column below
- Click on that funnel icon to see the range of options available for sorting and filtering the data
- Choose “Sort by color.”
- Click on “Fill Color” from the popup
- Next, you will see a range of background colors available for sorting
- First, select the color “yellow.”
- It will move yellow-colored cells to the top
- Repeat the process from step 4 to step 9 for the cyan color
- You will see that cyan-colored cells are now at the top and yellow colored are in the middle
- Again, repeat the process from steps 4 to 9 for the green color
Getting the color sequence correct is quite challenging. But if you understand that the color you will select first will move down to the sequence, things may get more manageable for you!
It requires some trial and error. However, you will get used to it after several practices sorting by multiple colors.
Make use of the example Google Sheets you downloaded above to sharpen your skills.
Combined sorting in Google Sheets
Suppose you wish to sort the table by the Employee names (Full Name) in ascending order and the Department column by IT. Here, the IT entries are color-coded with green as the background color.
In this case, follow the steps below, and Google Sheets will work automatically for you.
Step #1 – Create Filters for your table
- Open the spreadsheet
- Click on any cell of the table
- Go to the toolbar section that sits below the main menu
- Click on the filter icon to enable filters for your table
- You will notice a small funnel icon appears in the header column
Step #2 – Sort by Name
- Click on the funnel icon of the first header column, “Full Name.”
- It will display a range of options available for filtering and sorting the table data
- Choose the first option, “Sort A to Z.”
This will sort the employee names in ascending order.
The second option that says “Sort Z to A” is used for sorting the employee names in descending order.
Step #3 – Sort by Cell Background Color
- Now, Click on the funnel icon beside Department
- Choose the third option, “Sort by color.”
- Next, you need to click on the Fill Color
- Select the color from the list, which in this case is “green.”
The final output is as follows. Google Sheets will keep all the cells in green at the top and also sort another column (Employee Name) alphabetically.
Additionally, the sorting is applied to the white-colored cells as well. They appear at the bottom, and all the respective names from another column are sorted in ascending order.
Our Final Words on How to Sort By Color in Google Sheets
This article is all you need to sort by color in Google Sheets.
Overall, sorting is a powerful feature in both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel.
However, while you sort data by color in Google Sheets, you might have to develop some logic and go through a few trials and errors because things may not work as expected for a few cases, as discussed in the multiple color sorting section.
If you have any doubts or are stuck somewhere while sorting the dataset by cell background or text color, feel free to comment below.
I am looking forward to answering all your questions as soon as possible.