Sorting Alphanumeric Text as Numeric Values

WORKAROUND

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Sample Visual Basic Procedure

Type the following code in a Visual Basic module:

   ' Assume a cell entry of 1A 'myvalue' is the cell reference of the
   ' number to be sorted.
   Function numsort(myvalue As Variant)

      ' Calculates the function any time the worksheet recalculates.
      Application.Volatile

      ' Initializes the variable count as 0.
      Count = 0

      ' If the cell is numeric, the variable 'count' is equal to the value
      ' in the cell times 1000.
      ' 1A is not numeric
      If IsNumeric(myvalue) Then
         Count = myvalue * 1000
      Else
         no_text_yet = True
 
         ' Sets a For-Next loop from 1 to the length of characters in the
         ' cell.
         ' With 1A, the For-next loop will be from 1 to 2.
         For x = 1 To Len(myvalue)
 
            ' Sets the variable 'current' to the character of position x,
            ' for a length of 1 character.
            ' The first time through, 'current' will equal 1.
            ' The second time through, 'current' will equal A.
            current = Mid(myvalue, x, 1)
            If IsNumeric(current) Then
 
               ' If 'current' is numeric, then 'count' is equal to itself
               ' times ten plus 'current'.
               ' The first time through, 'count' is numeric and will equal
               ' 1.
               ' (0 * 1 + 1).
               ' The second time through, A is not numeric.
               Count = Count * 10 + current
 
            ' If 'current' is not numeric, then 'count' is equal to itself
            ' times 1000 plus the ASCII value of the letter.
            ' The first time through, 1 is numeric.
            ' The second time through, 'count' equals itself(1) times 1000
            ' + the ASCII character value of A(65), or 1065
         Else
            Count = Count * 1000 + Asc(current)
 
            ' Exits the For-Next loop as soon as we reach the first alpha
            ' character
            Exit For
         End If
      Next
 
      ' If the For-Next loop variable is not equal to the length of
      ' characters of myvalue then the last characters must be calculated.
      If x <> Len(myvalue) Then Count = _
         Count + Right(myvalue, Len(myvalue) - x) * 0.001
 
         ' This will happen as soon as we encounter the first alpha
         ' character. In this is the case, 'count' equals itself plus the
         ' right character of the total length minus the For-Next variable
         ' "x".
      End If
      numsort = Count
 
   End Function
				

To Use the Custom Function

1. Type the following in a worksheet:

   A1: 1
   A2: 12
   A3: 1A1
   A4: 1A2
   A5: 2

2. Select the range A1:A5, and click Sort on the Data menu.
3. Under My List Has, click No Header Row, and Sort By Column A in ascending order.
4. The worksheet will be sorted as follows:

   A1: 1
   A2: 2
   A3: 12
   A4: 1A1
   A5: 1A2

5. Enter the following formula into cell B1:

   B1: =numsort(A1)

   NOTE: This should return a numeric value of 1000 for the number 1 in cell A1.
6. With cell B1 selected, click Copy on the Edit menu. Select cells B2:B5 and click Paste on the Edit menu.
   
   The worksheet should have the following information in it:

   A1: 1 B1: 1000
   A2: 2 B2: 2000
   A3: 12 B3: 12000
   A4: 1A1 B4: 1065.001
   A5: 1A2 B5: 1065.002

7. Select the range A1:B5, and click Sort on the Data menu. Under My List Has, click No Header Row, and Sort By Column B in ascending order. The sort should return the following:

   A1: 1 B1: 1000
   A2: 1A1 B2: 1065.001
   A3: 1A2 B3: 1065.002
   A4: 2 B4: 2000
   A5: 12 B5: 12000