Manually entering the data in a column to another column might be the go-to solution if the column includes few cells, but this method will be excruciating in larger columns. Luckily, there are methods that allow you to effortlessly move columns in Excel.
1. Move Columns With Drag and Drop
The easiest way to move columns in Excel is by dragging and dropping them where you want.
Select the column you want to move. You can do this by clicking the column heading (for example, the letter B). Hold Shift and grab the right or left border of the column. Drop the column into the new position. Notice that as you’re moving the column around, some borders on the spreadsheet will be highlighted to indicate where the column will be placed.
This trick isn’t exclusive to columns, and you can use it to move rows or any group of cells as well. All you need to do is to select them and then drag and drop them with Shift held down.
2. Move Columns With Cut and Paste
Another easy method is cutting and pasting the column to a new position. To do this, all you need is to cut the column’s content and then paste it into a new column.
Select the column that you want to move. Press Ctrl + X on your keyboard. You can also right-click on the selected columns and select Cut. The cut column will have a dotted highlight. Select the target column. Press Ctrl + P on your keyboard to paste the column’s content. You can also right-click on the column to use the Paste Option.
3. Move Columns With Data Sort
This method is a bit more complex than the previous ones, but it pays well if you want to move a large spreadsheet with lots of columns. Using Data Sort to move columns lets you move multiple columns at once.
To use Data Sort to move columns, you need to add a row to the beginning of your spreadsheet and indicate the sorting order there. Then you can sort the columns with Data Sort.
Right-click a cell in the first row and then select Insert. This will insert a row on top of the first row. In the new row, insert the sorting order for your columns on top of each column. For instance, if you want the first column to be the fourth column in the new order, type a 4 in the cell above it. Select the entire data table. Go to the Data menu and select Sort from the Sort & Filter section. The Sort window will open. In the Sort window, click Options. Under Orientation, check Sort left to right. Select OK. Now back in the Sort window, select Row 1 in the Sort by menu. This will sort your table by the first row, where you put the numbers. Select Cell Values under Sort on. This will sort the columns based on the values in the first row. Select Smallest to Largest for Order. This way, the column numbered 1 will be first, and the others will come after it in sequence. Finally, when everything is set, click OK.
Now you have your columns moved to the position you wanted. There remains a slight inconvenience, and that is the first row. Let’s get rid of that.
Right-click on a cell in the first row. From the menu, select Delete. A window will appear asking you what you want to delete. Check Entire row and click OK.
Your data table is all sorted the way you wanted it now. If you’re dealing with dates in your data table and want to sort them, you should read our article on how to sort by date in Excel.
4. Move Columns With the SORT Function
If you want to rearrange your columns without losing the original arrangement, the SORT function lets you do this.
With the SORT function, you can make a rearranged copy of your data table, while keeping the original table intact. This way, you can rearrange and move the columns in a data table in one act, and then delete the old table if you’re happy with the new one.
The SORT function syntax is as below:
Using SORT to move columns is similar to using Data Sort, except that it is done through a function, and the original table won’t be changed.
Right-click the first row and select Insert. This will insert a new row at the beginning of your table. Inside the new row, insert the numeral order you’d like to arrange the columns by. Select the cell where you want the new table. In the formula bar, enter the formula below: =SORT(array, 1, 1, TRUE) Insert your cell range (e. g. A1:E10) instead of an array. The sort_index is set to 1, which means the first row in the table will be used as the sort index. This is the row that we just created with the orders in it. The sort_order is set to 1, which means that the data order will be ascending. The column marked 1 will come before the column marked 2 and so forth. Finally, the by_column parameter is set to true because we want to sort the columns and not the rows. Press Enter.
Now you have a sorted copy of your columns where you want them. Like the previous method, we have the unwanted top row here as well. This time you can’t just delete the row, because the row is part of an array formula, and you can’t change parts of an array formula. Nevertheless, you can still hide the row.
Right-click on the row number. From the menu, select Hide Rows.
Put Your Excel Columns Where You Want
Data arrangement is a crucial element of your spreadsheet. By properly ordering and positioning the columns in a spreadsheet, you can improve its readability and make finding specific data in a spreadsheet easier.
In this article, we walked through four methods on how you can move the columns in Excel. With what you just learned, you know how to simply move columns by dragging or dropping them or to move multiple columns in one go using Data Sort or the SORT function in Excel.
