Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Sorting an Album List.

Sorting an Album List

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 8, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365


1

Don has a document that has a list of music albums in it. Under each album name he has a bulleted list that shows the songs in that album. If he sorts the album list alphabetically, then the songs are all messed up. Don wonders if there is a way to sort the albums by name and maintain the list of songs under each album title.

There are three different approaches that could be used to get your list sorted properly. One simple way is to make sure that each album (including each song within the album) is actually a single paragraph. At the end of the album name and each song, instead of pressing Enter just use Shift+Enter. That does away with the bulleted list but you can simulate the bulleted list by simply inserting a bullet character at the beginning of each song. The resulting paragraphs can easily be sorted without affecting the order of the songs within each album.

A second approach involves placing your album data within a table. The table could be as simple as two columns—the first column for album titles and the second column for songs. As long as you only use a single row for each album, you can perform your sort based upon the contents of the first column only. The result is an easy-to-maintain album list.

The third approach involves using the outlining feature in Word. You can keep your songs in the bulleted lists, but apply a heading style to each of the album titles. (You can always adjust the formatting of the heading style to match how you want your album titles to appear.) You can then click the Outline View button on the status bar, limit the view to just the headings, and perform your sort on those headings. When you switch back to one of the other views, you'll see your albums in the desired sorted order, and the bulleted lists of song titles are not disturbed.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11774) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Sorting an Album List.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing AutoFormatting Rules

The AutoFormat feature of Word can be configured to make changes to a variety of conditions in your document. Here's how ...

Discover More

Determining If a Number is Odd or Even

Need to know if a number in a macro is odd or even? It's easy to figure out with the simple calculation shown in this tip.

Discover More

Modifying Behavior of the Open Dialog Box

The Open dialog box is one that few of us think about, but you can control how it behaves with a little bit of macro ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Odd Sorting

Word is great at sorting simple information in tables and paragraphs. If you have more complex information (such as ...

Discover More

Controlling How Word Sorts Text

Word has a very orderly way in which it sorts information, but that orderly method may not meet what you need to have ...

Discover More

Changing Paragraph Order

Want a quick way to rearrange entire paragraphs of your document? You can easily do it by using the techniques described ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is four more than 5?

2025-03-12 21:59:11

Michael Kelly

Using Outline view was a big surprise!
Thanks


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.