Why can't I sort this collumn?

Question

Level 1

4 points

Why can't I sort this collumn?

Every cell has same formula. I have not locked or frozen the table or anything. Why am i not able to sort it Asc or Dsc?

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15

Posted on May 21, 2024 12:55 PM

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Answer 1

Badunit

Level 7

26,578 points

May 21, 2024 5:38 PM in response to PixelCantina

Looking at the formula I think it is because you are using ROW as part of creating the condition. After you sort the column, whatever row gets sorted to B1 will be the same formula as it was before, again using 1 (the row number) to create the condition, and it will get the same answer as was there before. And same for all the other rows.

Imagine if the column B formula was just =ROW(). Sorting it won't work.

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Answer 2

PixelCantina Author

Level 1

4 points

May 22, 2024 8:03 AM in response to Badunit

I wasn't sure what you meant by the third column idea. Isn't ROW needed for the reference on that table? Can you provide a screen shot of what you meant?

But either way, this got me thinking. I created another table to simple reference the cells in the table with the 'counting' formulas. Then i'm able to sort that new table!

Below the tables on the left is the one that counts how many time the words have been used from another table.

Above I told Table2 A1 to call Table1 A2...

...then Table2 B1 to call Table1 B2

This seems to work fine.

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Answer 3

PixelCantina Author

Level 1

4 points

May 21, 2024 8:02 PM in response to Badunit

Oh ok that makes sense. I've tried using COLUMN instead but it does not count them correctly. The formula is counting how many times the words are being used in a referenced column. But the formula is kinda wonky either way. It seems that the more items that get on the list, the shorter the results.

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Answer 4

Badunit

Level 7

26,578 points

May 22, 2024 2:52 AM in response to PixelCantina

To make it sortable, add a third column of "index" numbers (1,2,3, etc.). Use actual numbers, not formulas. Use that column instead of ROW().

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