Sort by Color in Google Sheets™

Sort by Color helps you organize data when you've highlighted rows with different colors. Group similarly colored rows together and optionally define a custom priority order for your color scheme.

How to use Sort by Color

1. Select your range

Highlight the rows you want to sort. This tool works on the current selection only (helper text is shown in the panel).

2. Open the tool

Open the add-on sidebar, expand Sheets Mega Tools, go to Rows & Columns, and click Sort by Color.

You can also use the Sheets Mega Tools menu shortcut to open the same sidebar section.

3. Configure sort options

Click the caret button to expand the options panel:

Color Basis:

• Background (default) - Sort by cell background color
• Text - Sort by cell text color

Sort Order:

• Auto (default) - Colors appear in the order they first appear in your data
• Custom priority - Define specific color order using color pickers (unlisted colors appear after your custom list)

Additional Options:

• Blanks last - Move cells with no color to the bottom (default: off)
• Secondary sort - For rows with the same color, sort alphabetically A→Z by the first character of text content (ties only)

4. Run the sort

Click Sort selection to reorder rows based on your configured options.

5. Review status message

After sorting, a status message confirms:

• Color basis used (Background or Text)
• Sort order applied (Auto or Custom)
• Number of rows sorted

How It Works

Row Reordering

• Rows are reordered based on the color in the first column of your selection
• The entire row moves together, preserving all data
• Selection shape is preserved (same dimensions before and after)

Color Sorting Logic

Auto Order (Default):

• Colors are sorted in the order they first appear in your data
• Example: If Red appears first, then Blue, then Green, that's the sort order

Custom Priority:

• Define specific colors using color pickers (e.g., Red → Yellow → Green)
• Colors matching your list are sorted in your specified order
• Colors not in your list appear after your prioritized colors
• Blank (no color) cells can be forced to the bottom with "Blanks last" toggle

Secondary Sort

When multiple rows have the same color:

• Rows are sorted alphabetically A→Z by the first character of their text content
• Sorting is case-insensitive
• This only applies when there are "ties" (multiple rows with identical colors)

Data Preservation

The sort operation preserves:

• ✅ Cell values (numbers, text, dates)
• ✅ Cell formulas (functions remain intact)
• ✅ Cell notes/comments
• ✅ Background colors
• ✅ Font colors
• ✅ Cell formatting

Use Cases

• Priority tracking - Group tasks by color-coded priority (Red = Urgent, Yellow = Medium, Green = Low)
• Status visualization - Organize items by status colors (Red = Blocked, Yellow = In Progress, Green = Complete)
• Category grouping - Sort data by color-coded categories after manual highlighting
• Quality control - Group items by review status colors
• Project management - Organize tasks by color-coded project phase or team
• Data analysis - Group rows by color highlights from conditional formatting or manual review

Examples

Example 1: Auto Order (Default)

Your data has rows highlighted:

• Row 5: Red
• Row 3: Blue
• Row 7: Red
• Row 2: Green
• Row 8: Blue

After sorting with Auto order:

• Rows with Red (first color seen)
• Rows with Blue (second color seen)
• Rows with Green (third color seen)

Example 2: Custom Priority

You define priority: Green → Yellow → Red

Your data has rows: Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Purple

After sorting:

• Green rows (1st in your custom priority)
• Yellow rows (2nd in your custom priority)
• Red rows (3rd in your custom priority)
• Blue and Purple rows (not in custom list, appear after)

Example 3: With Secondary Sort

Multiple rows have Red background:

• "Zebra" (Red)
• "Apple" (Red)
• "Mango" (Red)

After sorting with secondary sort enabled:

• "Apple" (Red, sorted A→Z)
• "Mango" (Red, sorted A→Z)
• "Zebra" (Red, sorted A→Z)

Important Notes

Scope Limitation

Sorting is limited to the selected range to keep the operation predictable and safe. If you need to sort an entire sheet, use Google Sheets™ built-in Data → Sort range feature.

Merged Cells

The tool rejects selections containing merged cells. If you have merged cells in your selection:

1. Unmerge the cells first (Format → Merge cells → Unmerge)
2. Run the sort
3. Re-merge if needed afterward

Undo Support

The sort operation uses the Sheets API, which means:

• ✅ You can undo the sort with Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on Mac)
• ✅ The operation appears in your sheet's edit history
• ✅ All original data is preserved if you need to revert

Performance

For very large selections (10,000+ rows), the sort may take a few moments. The tool will show a loading indicator while processing.