Sort table action in Apple Numbers package

The Sort table action in the Apple Numbers package enables you to sort an active or specified table in a spreadsheet.

Settings

  • Use one of the following options to provide session name:
    • Session name: Enter the name of the session used to open the spreadsheet with the Open action.
    • Variable: Enter the session variable that you added in the Open action.
  • Choose from the following options to sort the table:
    • Active: Sorts the table that is currently active (selected).
    • Specific: Specify the table name to sort. For example, Table 1, SalesData.
  • Choose from the following options to sort the column by name or position:
    • Column Name: Enter the column name to sort the table. For example, A.
      Note: If the table contains a non-empty Header row, then you can sort the table using the header column name.

      If the header row is empty or not present, then you can use column names such as A, B, and C to sort the table.

    • Column Position: Specify the column position to sort by. For example, 2 for second column.

    For example, you have a table called Employee performance that contains three columns: Q1, Q2, and Q3. If you want to sort the order of the column Q2 in the table, enter Q2 in the Column Name field or enter 2 in the Column Position field.

  • Select the order in which you want to sort the table:
    • Ascending (1,2,3… / A→Z) : Smallest to largest; earliest to latest.
    • Descending (3,2,1… / Z→A) : Largest to smallest; latest to earliest.

When you specify the attributes mentioned above, the action will sort the specified table based on the designated column and sort order during execution. By default, the sorting is done numerically first, followed by alphabetically. This means that if a column contains both numbers and alphabetic values, the numbers will appear first (higher in the table), followed by the alphabetic or alphanumeric values. Additionally, lowercase values will always be prioritized and will appear before uppercase values, regardless of the designated sort order.

For example, the string roger will always appear higher in the column than Roger. You can identify the column to sort by either its name (the value in the header row) or its position, with columns designated as A, B, C, and so on, where A is position 1, B is position 2, and C is position 3, accordingly.