You have a list of fruits in column A: Apple, Banana, Cherry, Date, and Elderberry.
You want to sort them in this custom order: Cherry, Banana, Apple, Date, Elderberry.
Which formula in column B will assign numbers to each fruit to help sort them in this custom order?
Use a function that finds the position of a value in a list.
The MATCH function returns the position of the fruit in the custom list, which can be used to sort the fruits in the desired order.
You want to sort a list of priority levels: High, Medium, Low.
Which Excel function is best to assign numeric values to these text priorities for sorting?
Look for a function that finds the exact position of a value in a list.
MATCH with exact match (0) returns the position of the priority in the list, perfect for custom sorting.
You have dates in column A and want to sort them by weekday in this order: Friday, Monday, Wednesday, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
Which formula in column B correctly assigns numbers to weekdays for this custom sort?
Convert the date to weekday name and find its position in the custom list.
TEXT with "dddd" gets the weekday name. MATCH finds its position in the custom order list, which can be used to sort.
You have a list of tasks with statuses: Done, In Progress, Not Started.
You assign numbers using this formula: =MATCH(B2, {"Not Started","In Progress","Done"}, 0).
What will be the numeric value assigned to "Done"?
Check the position of "Done" in the list inside MATCH.
"Done" is the third item in the list, so MATCH returns 3.
You have a table with columns: Priority (High, Medium, Low) and Due Date.
You want to sort first by Priority in order High > Medium > Low, then by Due Date ascending.
Which formula in column C correctly assigns a sorting key combining both criteria?
Multiply priority rank by a large number to keep it dominant, then add due date.
Multiplying the priority rank by 100000 ensures priority sorting dominates. Adding the due date sorts by date within each priority.