The Sort dialog takes several levels: department A to Z, then amount largest to smallest within each one. That's the useful part. The dangerous part is what happens when you sort a single column with the rest of the data sitting beside it — the column reorders and the other columns don't, so every row now pairs the wrong customer with the wrong number. Excel does warn, in a dialog most people click through. There is no undo once it's saved and closed.

1. 1Click one cell inside the data — don't select a single column.
2. 2Press Alt + A, S, S for the full Sort dialog.
3. 3**Add Level** for each additional key, and check **My data has headers** so the header row stays put.

Press the shortcut to play it on a sample sheet.

• Group a transaction list by department, largest amounts first.
• Order an aging report by days overdue within each customer.
• Sort by a custom list — your own P&L line order rather than alphabetical.