IronXL How-Tos Sort Cell Range How to Sort Cell Range Chaknith Bin Updated:July 28, 2025 Sorting data in alphabetical or value order is essential for data analysis in Microsoft Excel. With IronXL, sorting Excel columns, rows, and ranges becomes straightforward in C# and VB.NET. Get started with IronXL Start using IronXL in your project today with a free trial. First Step: Start for Free How to Sort Cell Range in Excel Download C# library to sort cell range Load existing Excel spreadsheet or create new one Select range or column to be sorted Apply SortAscending or SortDescending method based on desired order Sort a range based on a particular column with SortByColumn method Sort Columns Independently Example Use the SortAscending or SortDescending method on the selected range or column to apply sorting in the desired order. When applying sorting to a range with multiple columns, the SortAscending or SortDescending method will independently iterate and apply the sorting to each column. These methods push any empty cells to either the top or bottom of the range. To remove these empty cells, you can use the Trim method after sorting. This will eliminate the empty cells, ensuring a clean and organized dataset. :path=/static-assets/excel/content-code-examples/how-to/sort-cells-range.cs using IronXL; WorkBook workBook = WorkBook.Load("sample.xlsx"); WorkSheet workSheet = workBook.DefaultWorkSheet; // Select a column(A) var column = workSheet.GetColumn(0); // Sort column(A) in ascending order (A to Z) column.SortAscending(); // Sort column(A) in descending order (Z to A) column.SortDescending(); workBook.SaveAs("sortExcelRange.xlsx"); Imports IronXL Private workBook As WorkBook = WorkBook.Load("sample.xlsx") Private workSheet As WorkSheet = workBook.DefaultWorkSheet ' Select a column(A) Private column = workSheet.GetColumn(0) ' Sort column(A) in ascending order (A to Z) column.SortAscending() ' Sort column(A) in descending order (Z to A) column.SortDescending() workBook.SaveAs("sortExcelRange.xlsx") $vbLabelText $csharpLabel Sort By Column Example The SortByColumn method allows you to sort a range based on a specified column. This method requires two parameters: the first parameter is the column you want to sort by, and the second parameter is the range to which you want to apply the sorting. :path=/static-assets/excel/content-code-examples/how-to/sort-cells-sort-by-column.cs using IronXL; WorkBook workBook = WorkBook.Load("sample.xlsx"); WorkSheet workSheet = workBook.DefaultWorkSheet; // Select a range var range = workSheet["A1:D10"]; // Sort the range by column(B) in ascending order range.SortByColumn("B", SortOrder.Ascending); workBook.SaveAs("sortRange.xlsx"); Imports IronXL Private workBook As WorkBook = WorkBook.Load("sample.xlsx") Private workSheet As WorkSheet = workBook.DefaultWorkSheet ' Select a range Private range = workSheet("A1:D10") ' Sort the range by column(B) in ascending order range.SortByColumn("B", SortOrder.Ascending) workBook.SaveAs("sortRange.xlsx") $vbLabelText $csharpLabel It is not possible to sort by multiple columns yet, for example, sorting by column A and then by column B. Frequently Asked Questions What is the library used to work with Excel files in C#? IronXL is a C# library that allows developers to work with Excel files without the need for Microsoft Excel Interop. How do I get started with sorting cells in Excel programmatically? To get started with sorting cells using IronXL, download the library from NuGet, load an existing spreadsheet or create a new one, and then use the sorting methods such as SortAscending or SortDescending on your selected range or column. How can I sort a cell range in ascending order programmatically? To sort a cell range in ascending order using IronXL, load your Excel file, specify the range, and apply the SortAscending method. Finally, save the changes to a new Excel file. What methods are available for sorting in a C# Excel library? IronXL provides methods such as SortAscending and SortDescending for sorting ranges or columns. Additionally, the SortByColumn method allows sorting based on a specific column. Can I sort by multiple columns using a library for Excel in C#? No, currently it is not possible to sort by multiple columns simultaneously using IronXL. What happens to empty cells when sorting with an Excel library in C#? When sorting with IronXL, empty cells are pushed either to the top or the bottom of the range. You can use the Trim method to remove empty cells after sorting. How do I sort a range based on a specific column using a C# Excel library? To sort a range based on a specific column using IronXL, use the SortByColumn method, specifying the column index and the range to apply the sorting. Is it possible to save the sorted Excel file programmatically? Yes, after sorting your Excel data using IronXL, you can save the sorted file to a new Excel file using the SaveAs method. Chaknith Bin Chat with engineering team now Software Engineer Chaknith is the Sherlock Holmes of developers. It first occurred to him he might have a future in software engineering, when he was doing code challenges for fun. His focus is on IronXL and IronBarcode, but he takes pride in helping customers with every product. Chaknith leverages his knowledge from talking directly with customers, to help further improve the products themselves. His anecdotal feedback goes beyond Jira tickets and supports product development, documentation and marketing, to improve customer’s overall experience.When he isn’t in the office, he can be found learning about machine learning, coding and hiking. Ready to Get Started? Free NuGet Download Total downloads: 1,510,123 View Licenses