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How to alphabetize lists in Microsoft Word

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Microsoft Word is a powerful word processing application that's capable of creating complex and compelling documents. It can also perform very simple but useful tasks, like alphabetizing a list.

Even if you know how to use Microsoft Word, you might not know how to alphabetize lists. Well, here's how to do that.

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Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • Microsoft Word

Sort by the first item in a list

In this example, we'll look at a list of first and last names. We're going to sort them by the first name.

Step 1: To begin, select all the items in your list.

Select list items in Microsoft Word.
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Step 2: Select the Sort button from the Home menu.

The sort button in Word.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 3: Under "Sort by" choose "paragraphs" and choose either "Ascending" (A to Z) or "Descending" (Z to A) on the right.

Step 4: Click OK and the results will now be alphabetized by the first name.

List Sorted by first name in Microsoft Word.
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

So, as long as you have a list of items to sort, they can be arranged in alphabetical order. Just be sure to place each item on a separate line.

Microsoft Word has a vast collection of features, many of which you may not know about. For example, here's how to print labels in Microsoft Word.

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