Sort task rows

Sort, or rearrange, schedule task rows based on column data or symbol dates on the schedule. To change the schedule to its original order choose Edit | Undo | Undo Sort before making a change to the schedule.

Rearrange all task rows by either the earliest symbol date or the latest symbol date on each task row, in an ascending or descending order. Thus, tasks can be listed in chronological order, from the earliest task to start, to the latest task to start; from the earliest to finish, to the latest to finish; and more.

Optionally, maintain the schedule's outline structure, preserving the parent/sub-task hierarchy.

Sort the tasks by the earliest symbol or latest symbol on each task row:

1. Choose Tools | Sort Schedule | By Date.

2. Choose the Order of Sort:

   • Ascending: Orders the task rows earliest to latest.

   • Descending: Orders the tasks rows from latest to earliest.

3. Choose the Date to Sort By:

   • By First Date in Task: Sorts by the symbol with the earliest date on each task row. Typically used to sort by start dates.

   • By Last Date in Task: Sorts by the symbol with the latest date on each task row. Typically used to sort by finish dates.

4. Optionally, Maintain Outline Structure to retain the parent/child task (summary/sub-task) hierarchy.

5. Optionally, change the Max Level to Sort to control how deeply into the sub-tasks Milestones will sort.

 Either the first date or the last date on the task row is used, even if it is not visible on the schedule. For example, if the date June 1, 2025 is the first date on the task row, but only the year 2023 is being displayed, then June 1, 2025 will still be used as the date by which to sort if  sort By First Date in Task is chosen.

1. Select a Column

2. Choose Tools | Sort Schedule | By Selected Column.

3. Choose the Type of Sort:

   • Ascending: Orders the task rows from smallest to largest; earliest to latest; or A to Z.

   • Descending: Orders the tasks rows from largest to smallest; latest to earliest; or Z to A.

4. Choose the Type of Column Text:

   • Numeric if the column contains numbers, only.

   • • Treat numbers as currency if the column contains currency.

   • WBS Numbers if  the column has WBS numbers. Not applicable to a selected WBS SmartColumn.

   • Text if the column has text that was entered.

   • Dates if the column contains dates. Useful for sorting a schedule by start date or end date.

5. Choose OK to apply the sort settings.

6. Sort based upon level 1 values only.  Retain outline structure. When selected, this option sorts just based upon the level one values in a column, thereby retaining subtask placement.

 If WBS Numbers are chosen, then the columns are assumed to contain valid WBS numbers such as 1.0, 1.1, ... 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11, 1.11.1, etc. Note that WBS numbers are not like normal numbers, because they can contain more than one decimal and because 1.10 is greater than 1.1. (Note that WBS SmartColumn numbers are automatically kept in sequence, so there would be no need to sort a column set up with WBS SmartColumn entries.)

Task rows can be sorted by information in various columns. For example, it's possible to sort by employee name and task start dates to generate an alphabetical list of employees and their tasks listed in chronological order.

Sort all tasks, or select a range of task rows to sort.

1. If only selected rows are to be sorted, first select the task rows.

   • Only select contiguous task rows. All task rows from the first selected task row to last selected task row will be sorted, regardless of outline level.

2. Choose Tools | Sort Schedule | By Multiple Columns. 

	Choose the Sort order.	Sort in Ascending Order:  Order the task rows from smallest to largest; earliest to latest; or A to Z in the selected column. Sort in Descending Order: Order the tasks rows from largest to smallest; latest to earliest; or Z to A in the selected column.
	Choose the Task rows to sort.	Choose All Task Rows or Selected Task Rows
	Pick the First Key Column. (will be sorted first)	Text if the column contains text. Numeric if the column contains numbers, only. Currency if the column contains currency. Parenthesis around the number or a minus sign before or after the number will indicate a negative value. Date if the column contains dates.
	Pick the Second Key Column (will be sorted second)
	Pick the Third Key Column (will be sorted third)
	Save the sort settings	Under Current Sort Name, click on any of the names (Sort 1, Sort 2,...Sort 10). Type a new name for this sort setting which can be retrieved for future use. Click Save Settings/Name. Click OK to apply the sort settings.