Can Sort Only 500 Rows When Sorting Left to Right

When you sort columns from left to right, there is a limitation of 500 rows to sort by.

To sort columns instead of rows, follow these steps:

1. On the Data menu, click Sort.
2. In the Sort dialog box, click Options, click Sort Left To Right, and then click OK.
3. In the "Sort By" field, select the row you want to sort by.
   
   This field allows you to only select a row from the first 500 rows within your sort area.

The user interface used for sorting has changed from Microsoft Excel 4.0 to Microsoft Excel 5.0. The limit of 500 rows was chosen to avoid running out of memory while populating the list for the "Sort By" field.

"User's Guide," version 5.0, Chapter 21, "Sorting Data in a List"

For more information about Sorting From Left To Right, choose the Search button in Help and type: