How to Sort by Extracted Value

Sort your lists by embedded values like prices, percentages, or numbers without reformatting your data.

What is Sort by Extracted Value?

Sometimes your data contains values embedded within text that you want to sort by. For example:

McLean, VA ($250k)
Austin, TX ($185k)
Cupertino, CA ($231k)

Instead of manually extracting the dollar amounts, Sort by Extracted Value automatically finds and sorts by these embedded values.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Enter Your Data

Paste or type your list into the text area. Each line should contain the value you want to sort by.

Example input:

McLean, VA ($250k)
Austin, TX ($185k)
Cupertino, CA ($231k)
Seattle, WA ($195k)
Denver, CO ($165k)
Boston, MA ($210k)

Step 2: Open the Sort Menu

Click Sort in the toolbar, then select Advanced Sorts > By Extracted Value.

Step 3: Choose Your Extraction Type

Select the type of value to extract:

Type	Examples	Use Case
Currency	$250k, $1.5M, $1,234.56	Salaries, prices, budgets
Number	42, 3.14, -100	Quantities, ratings, scores
Percent	75%, 12.5%	Completion rates, growth
Date	2024-12-25, 1/15/24	Event dates, deadlines

Step 4: Select Sort Order

Choose your sort direction:

• High to Low: Largest values first (descending)
• Low to High: Smallest values first (ascending)

Step 5: Preview and Apply

The preview shows:

• Your original lines
• The extracted value for each line
• Lines with no extractable value (highlighted)

Click Sort [N] Lines to apply the sort.

Example Results

Input (unsorted):

McLean, VA ($250k)
Austin, TX ($185k)
Cupertino, CA ($231k)
Seattle, WA ($195k)
Denver, CO ($165k)
Boston, MA ($210k)

Output (sorted by Currency, High to Low):

McLean, VA ($250k)
Cupertino, CA ($231k)
Boston, MA ($210k)
Seattle, WA ($195k)
Austin, TX ($185k)
Denver, CO ($165k)

Supported Formats

Currency

• Standard: $500, $1,234.56
• Shorthand: $250k, $1.5M, $2B
• With spaces: $ 500

Numbers

• Integers: 42, 1000
• Decimals: 3.14, 99.99
• Negative: -50, -3.5
• With commas: 1,000,000

Percentages

• Whole: 75%
• Decimal: 12.5%

Dates

• ISO: 2024-12-25
• US: 12/25/2024, 12/25/24

Handling Missing Values

Lines without an extractable value:

• Are shown with “none” in the preview
• Display a warning: “X lines have no extractable value”
• Sort to the end of the list (regardless of sort direction)

Tips

1. Multiple values per line: The tool uses the first match it finds
2. Mixed formats: The tool handles mixed formats (e.g., $500 and $1.5M together)
3. Undo: Use Ctrl+Z to undo if the result isn’t what you expected
4. Preview first: Always check the preview to verify extraction is correct

Common Use Cases

• Salary comparisons: Sort job listings by compensation
• Product pricing: Order items by price
• Performance metrics: Rank by percentage or score
• Date ordering: Sort events chronologically
• Budget analysis: Order line items by amount