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Sort order of files on iPad with Excel or Office 365 apps

Anonymous
2024-12-05T19:19:19+00:00

I use Excel on my iPad. When opening files through the excel app, the sort order for files appears to be alphabetical. There appears to be no way of changing the sort order e.g. to date modified order.

When there are a lot of files in a folder, it is difficult to find the one I want to open.

I can go through the OneDrive app, and open the file from there in the Excel app. That is a painful work around, but OneDrive does at least allow sorting.

This is not a new issue, as can be seen from this closed thread from 2018.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/sort-order-of-files-on-ipad-with-office-365/f37918e9-355d-4e28-af74-978a315fbbca

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | Other | iOS

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-12-06T09:39:24+00:00

    Dear, KDP71

    Welcome to Microsoft Community.

    Currently, we are testing Excel/OneDrive on iPad, with versions 2.91.2 and 15.27.3 respectively. The Excel app on iPad does not support changing the sort order of files natively when opening them within the app. Files are displayed alphabetically by default, and there is no option to change this to "date modified" or any other criteria from the Excel file picker directly.

    The design of Excel and other Microsoft 365 apps on iPad is intentional, with limited file sorting capabilities for several reasons:

    1. Microsoft 365 mobile apps are designed to be streamlined, focusing on providing quick access to essential features rather than the full range of complex features available on desktop versions. Therefore, advanced file sorting may not be a primary function.
    2. Users are encouraged to use OneDrive or another file manager, like the iPad's Files app, for detailed file sorting. These apps offer comprehensive sorting options, and Excel's file opening interface is meant to be a simple access point. Adding a file management system to Excel's mobile version could use unnecessary system resources.
    3. Lastly, the mobile Office app is not intended to be a complete file management solution. “It relies on the operating system's file API and cloud storage services, which constrains the ability to tailor file browsing features.”

    Possible solutions or suggestions:

    • As you mentioned, sorting using OneDrive is an effective solution, or you can use other file apps to accomplish this operation. In our testing, this is indeed the case.
    • You can continue to submit feedback in the Excel app (Settings > Help & Feedback > Submit Feedback) or raise a request on the Microsoft Feedback Portal.

    To summarize, this issue pertains to product design priorities. The community offers technical support but does not give development advice. The Microsoft development team considers that file sorting capabilities can be complemented by external tools instead of being integrated into the Excel application.

    We appreciate your understanding and patience.

    Best Regards,

    Hannah.Z- MSFT |Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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