Excel 2007 : joining multiple columns

[samw1982]

i am trying to make list of names first/last/age of groups of people i look after,
i would like to be able to set these lists so i can set a-z by last name and also need to be able to put in age order at times,
i have tryed putting it in cellls but when i change one colloum the other stays the way it was,

so i can have age order
john smith 13
joe bloggs 14
david jones 15


or change to alphabetical by surname
joe bloggs 14
david jones 15
john smith 13

i am useing excel 2007 the home and student version

[Paul]

Hello Sam, and welcome to the forum.

When sorting columns, if you select a column and click the sort button, Excel should prompt you to either continue with the current selection or - if there is data immediately next to the current column - ask if you want to expand the current selection before sorting.

You want to expand the selection if you've only selected the one column. Otherwise, prior to clicking the sort button, simply select the three columns in question.