Cannot Alpha Order a Single Column of Info - PLEASE HELP

Question

I'm an expert on Excel and recently switched to a Mac and am now using Numbers. It should be simple to alpha order a single column of words, but after three days I can't get any options to work.
When I try to sort just the column and select just the column name and just the selected cells it sorts the entire spreadsheet over and over again. Instant alpha is grayed out an unusable from the Format menu.
PLEASE HELP! How can I get a single column of words to sort in alpha order. Nothing I've tried works and when I follow the help menu instructions it still sorts the entire spreadsheet and not just the selected column.

Answer 1

NeedHelpNow2011 wrote:
When I try to sort just the column and select just the column name and just the selected cells it sorts the entire spreadsheet over and over again.
Hi Need',
Welcome to Apple Discussion and the Numbers '09 forum.
Numbers considers all of the date in a row to be a set (in database terms, a record), and sorts accordingly.
Here are two ways to sort a single column:
1. Copy the data from the column, Paste into a single-column table (or an otherwise empty table with any number of columns), perform the sort, then copy the newly sorted data and paste it back into the original column.
2. Grab the column you wish to sort, tear it out of its table to form a new single column table. Sort, then drag it back into position and drop it back into the original table.
The second method requires some explanation, which you'll find on page 58 of the Numbers '09 User Guide, or in more detail, in this discussion from a few days ago. Scan the thread for this image, check that message and the ones below it.
On another note, you wrote:
Instant alpha is grayed out an unusable from the Format menu.
Instant alpha refers to the alpha channel which may be added to a graphic object to create transparency. It's not connected with sorting text or numbers. More in the Numbers '09 User Guide under "Removing the Background or Unwanted Elements from an Image" in Chapter 9, _Working with Shapes, Graphics, and Other Objects_.
The numbers '09 User Guide, and its reference companion, the iWork formulas and Functions User Guide, are excellent resources, and well worth downloading and spending a bit of time with. They can be had through the Help menu in Numbers.
Regards,
Barry