Excel sort by date not working

This guide walks you through the steps to sort by date in Excel.

It starts with how to convert text-formatted dates to actual date values, followed by basic sorting methods and advanced techniques like sorting dates by month and sorting birthdays.

Convert Text Dates to Real Dates

Excel sometimes fails to recognize dates because they are formatted as text, which prevents proper sorting.

Properly formatted dates are right-aligned, whereas text values are left-aligned.

Use the methods below until your dates are right-aligned. If your dates are right-aligned, you're ready to sort by date in Excel.

Method 1: Apply a Date Format

1.

Select the text dates.

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2. On the Home tab, in the Number group, select "Short Date" from the Number Format drop-down list.

Method 2: Use Find and Replace

1. Select the text dates.
2.

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Press Ctrl + H to open the Find and Replace dialog box.
3. In the Find what box, type a single slash (/) and in the Replace with box, type a single slash (/) again, then click Replace All.

Method 3: Use Text to Columns

1.

Select t

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