Sorting Excel column by IP address

Question

I have a fairly large (over 200 row) Excel spreadsheet that lists items in my network (i.e. printers, servers, workstations, network projectors, etc), and one of the first columns is the IP Address field, which takes the form 192.168.x.y. My issue when I try to sort it is that it goes (as an example) from 192.168.0.85 to 192.168.0.9. What I would like to see is it sorting based on the first 3 octets, then the last octet logically (i.e. .1, .2, .3, etc). Is this possible? If so, how?

Answer 1

As nixda mentioned in the comments, helper columns will make this possible. You have two options for maintaining the sheet afterward:

• Add all new IPs in the split helper columns.
• Repeat the Text-to-columns procedure for new additions.

Here's the procedure:

1. Select your IP column and click Data > Text-to-Columns

2. Choose the Delimted option and click Next. Check the Other checkbox and enter a period .. Click Next.

3. Keep all of the columns, keep them as General, click the range icon to edit the Destination section.

4. Select the columns where you want the new text to appear. Hit the Enter key.

5. Make sure your range is selected and click Data > Sort. Enter the sorting criteria. Keep adding levels for each octet.

6. Here's the end result:

Answer 2

I realize this is an old post, but in the interest of providing a working solution, I present the following.

Just put this formula in an adjacent cell and update the references to point to the cell containing your IP address (A1 in this example). This will produce a result similar to 010.121.008.030, which can then be sorted (correctly) alphabetically. Then set the new column's width to zero and voila. Time to enjoy a cup of coffee.

=TEXT(MID(A1,1,FIND(".",A1)),"000")&"."&TEXT(MID(A1,FIND(".",A1)+1,FIND(".",A1,FIND(".",A1)+1)-1-FIND(".",A1)),"000")&"."&TEXT(MID(A1,FIND(".",A1,FIND(".",A1)+1)+1,FIND(".",A1,FIND(".",A1,FIND(".",A1)+1)+1)-1-FIND(".",A1,FIND(".",A1)+1)),"000")&"."&TEXT(MID(A1,FIND(".",A1,FIND(".",A1,FIND(".",A1)+1)+1)+1,LEN(A1)),"000")

Answer 3

In addition to John Homer's answer, I here provide a formula that also works in Apple's Numbers application, as TEXT function does not exist there. Also tested in Google Docs.

=DEC2HEX(LEFT(B2,FIND(".",B2)-1),2)
&
DEC2HEX(MID(
    B2,
    FIND(".",B2)+1,
    FIND(
        ".",
        B2,
        FIND(".",B2)+1
    ) - FIND(".",B2) - 1
),2)
&
DEC2HEX(MID(
    B2,
    FIND(
        ".",
        B2,
        FIND(".",B2)+1
    ) + 1,
    FIND(
        ".",
        B2,
        FIND(
            ".",
            B2,
            FIND(".",B2)+1
        )+1
    ) - FIND(
        ".",
        B2,
        FIND(".",B2)+1
    ) - 1
),2)
&
DEC2HEX(RIGHT(
    B2,
    LEN(B2) - FIND(
        ".",
        B2,
        FIND(
            ".",
            B2,
            FIND(".",B2)+1
        )+1
    )
),2)

Answer 4

Sub IPSplit()

HeaderRow = 1
ColimnName = "A"
BeginIPaddsressData = 2

Dim HeaderArray As Variant
HeaderArray = Array("IP oct 1", "IP oct 2", "IP oct 3", "IP oct 4")

Dim Octet() As String
Dim RangeSearch As Range, RangeFound As Range, LastCell As Range
Dim LastCellRowNumber As Long, LastCellColumnNumber As Long, RowNumber As Long

With ActiveSheet
Set LastCell = .Cells(HeaderRow, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft)
LastHeaderColumnNumber = LastCell.Column

Set RangeSearch = Range("1:1")
Set RangeFound = RangeSearch.Find(What:=HeaderArray(0), LookIn:=xlValues)

If RangeFound Is Nothing Then
RowNumber = 2
    If .Cells(RowNumber, .Columns.Count) <> vbNullString Then
        Set LastCell = .Cells(RowNumber, .Columns.Count)
        LastCellColumnNumber = LastCell.Column
    Else
        Set LastCell = .Cells(RowNumber, .Columns.Count).End(xlToLeft)
'Specifies the last column LastCellColumnNumber.

        LastCellColumnNumber = LastCell.Column
    End If

Range(Cells(HeaderRow, LastCellColumnNumber + 1), Cells(HeaderRow, LastCellColumnNumber + 4)).Value = HeaderArray
'Insert Header

Else
LastCellColumnNumber = RangeFound.Column - 1
End If

Set LastCell = .Cells(.Rows.Count, ColimnName).End(xlUp)
'Specifies the last cell number in the column ColimnName.

LastCellRowNumber = LastCell.Row   
End With

    For I = BeginIPaddsressData To LastCellRowNumber

    Octet = Split(Cells(I, ColimnName).Value, ".")
    For O = 0 To 3       
'cells populate the values of octets 1-4.
      If (UBound(Octet) - O) >= 0 Then      
         Cells(I, ColimnName).Offset(0, LastCellColumnNumber + O).Value = Octet(O)
      End If
    Next
Next
End Sub