How to Sort Horizontally in Excel Pivot Table: A Comprehensive Guide

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Are you trying to figure out how to sort horizontally in an Excel pivot table? Pivot tables are a powerful tool in Microsoft Excel for analyzing and summarizing large datasets. One common question is how to change the sorting order of columns in a pivot table to display the data horizontally in a specific order. In this article, we’ll walk through the steps to easily sort pivot table columns horizontally in Excel.

Why Sort Horizontally in a Pivot Table?

By default, pivot tables in Excel sort data vertically based on the row labels. However, there are times when you may want to change the sorting order to display the data horizontally across columns instead.

Some reasons to sort horizontally in a pivot table include:

• Comparing values across different categories or time periods side-by-side
• Arranging data in a more intuitive or logical order for reporting
• Fitting more columns on screen or on a printed page
• Improving readability of the summarized data
• Highlighting trends or patterns in the data more clearly
• Creating a more visually appealing and professional-looking report

Horizontal sorting gives you flexibility in how you organize and present the data in your pivot table to better communicate insights to your audience.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Sort Horizontally in Excel Pivot Table

Now let’s go through the detailed process to change sorting from vertical to horizontal in an Excel pivot table. We’ll use a simple example of sales data by region and month to illustrate.

Step 1: Prepare Your Data

Before creating a pivot table, make sure your data is organized in a tabular format with clear headers:

• Each column should contain one type of data (dates, text, numbers)
• Avoid blank rows or columns within the data range
• Remove any total or subtotal rows
• Ensure consistent formatting for dates, numbers, and text

Having clean, well-structured source data will make your pivot tables work smoothly.

Step 2: Create a Pivot Table

With your data ready, you can now create a pivot table in Excel:

1. Select any cell within your data range
2. Go to the Insert tab on the Excel ribbon
3. Click the PivotTable button
4. Confirm your data range and choose where to place the pivot table (new or existing worksheet)
5. Click OK to create the empty pivot table

You should now see the pivot table builder on the right side of your Excel window.

Step 3: Add Fields to the Pivot Table

In the pivot table builder, decide which fields you want to use and add them to the appropriate areas:

• Filters: Fields you want to use to filter the data
• Columns: Fields you want displayed as column headers horizontally
• Rows: Fields you want displayed as row labels vertically
• Values: Numeric fields you want to summarize (sum, average, count, etc.)

For our sales data example, let’s add:

• Region to the Filters area to be able to filter the results by region
• Month to the Columns area to display each month horizontally
• Product to the Rows area to show each product category vertically
• Sales to the Values area to sum up the sales amounts

Drag and drop or check the box next to each field to add it to the pivot table.

Step 4: Sort the Pivot Table Horizontally

By default, the Month column labels will likely sort in alphabetical order (Apr, Aug, Dec, etc.) rather than chronological order. To change the horizontal sorting of the months:

1. Select any cell within the month column labels in the pivot table
2. Right-click and choose “Sort” from the context menu
3. In the Sort dialog box, select “Sort by” and choose “Month”
4. Choose “Ascending” order to sort from January to December
5. Click OK to apply the custom sort order

The months should now display chronologically from January to December horizontally across the column headers in your pivot table.

Step 5: Format and Customize the Pivot Table

With your data sorted horizontally, you can now format and customize the pivot table to your liking:

• Apply a pivot table style or create your own custom formatting
• Change number formatting for the values area
• Modify column widths to fit the data
• Rename the row and column labels
• Add a chart to visualize the data
• Insert slicers for easy filtering

Feel free to experiment with the various pivot table options to create a professional, easy-to-read summary of your data.

Sorting Columns Chronologically by Pivot Table Month

One of the most common scenarios for horizontal sorting in a pivot table is arranging columns representing months in chronological order from January to December. The process described above works perfectly for this.

Some additional tips for working with pivot table months:

• Make sure your source data has a clean date column with valid dates
• Use a “group by” month option if your date column includes day information
• If fiscal months, add a fiscal month column to your data and use that for the column labels
• Format the month column as mmm or mmmm for abbreviations or full month names

Taking these steps will ensure your months sort correctly in chronological order horizontally in the pivot table.

Sorting Pivot Table Columns by Other Criteria

In addition to sorting columns by month, you can use the horizontal sort feature in Excel pivot tables to arrange columns in other meaningful orders as well. Some examples:

• Sorting category columns alphabetically from A to Z
• Arranging columns from largest to smallest value
• Displaying columns in a custom user-specified order

To sort category columns alphabetically, simply select the column labels, right-click, and choose the A-Z sort option.

To sort columns by value from largest to smallest, add the value field a second time to the Values area, right-click on it, and choose “Sort from Largest to Smallest.”

For a custom column order, manually rearrange the order of items in the field list in the pivot table builder.

Troubleshooting Common Horizontal Sorting Issues

If you run into issues getting your columns to sort horizontally as intended, here are some troubleshooting tips to try:

• Make sure you have the correct field in the Columns area (not Rows)
• Verify you are sorting by the correct criteria (label vs. value)
• Ensure there are no conflicting sort options applied
• Check for blank or invalid entries in your source data
• Refresh the pivot table after making any changes
• Double-check your data type (text, numeric, date) matches your sort
• Try the sort operation with a simplified version of your data

Walking through these steps one-by-one should help resolve most common horizontal sorting issues you may encounter in your pivot tables.

Wrapping Up: Horizontal Sorting in Excel Pivot Tables

Sorting horizontally in an Excel pivot table is a straightforward process that allows you to change the display order of columns to better analyze and present your data. Whether you want to sort by month chronologically, category alphabetically, value, or a custom order, the steps are similar.

To recap, simply set up your pivot table with the desired fields, select the column labels, right-click and choose the appropriate sort option, and format your sorted pivot table as needed.

By following this comprehensive guide, you should now have the skills and confidence to sort your Excel pivot tables horizontally to gain insights, identify trends, and communicate findings effectively. Horizontal sorting is a must-have tool to add to your Excel data analysis toolkit.

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Vaishvi Desai

Vaishvi Desai is the founder of Excelsamurai and a passionate Excel enthusiast with years of experience in data analysis and spreadsheet management. With a mission to help others harness the power of Excel, Vaishvi shares her expertise through concise, easy-to-follow tutorials on shortcuts, formulas, Pivot Tables, and VBA.