Sort Lines Online
Sort text lines alphabetically, numerically, by length, or in reverse order. Perfect for organizing lists, CSV data, and code.
0 characters · 1 lines
0 characters · 1 lines
Why Sort Lines Alphabetically or Numerically?
Our free online line sorter instantly organizes text lists alphabetically, numerically, by length, or in reverse order—transforming chaotic, unsorted data into clean, ordered lists perfect for spreadsheets, databases, or documentation. When managing contact lists, product inventories, reference materials, or code imports, unsorted data makes finding items difficult, creates duplicate entries, and causes import errors in systems expecting alphabetical or numerical order. Marketers use this tool to organize email lists before campaigns, developers use it to sort CSS properties or import statements in code, and data analysts use it to prepare sorted CSV files for database insertion.
The tool offers four powerful sorting modes: alphabetical A-Z for standard ascending order, reverse Z-A for descending lists, numeric sorting that intelligently extracts and compares numbers within text (perfect for sorting numbered lists, version numbers, or file names with numbers), and length-based sorting that arranges lines from shortest to longest for readability analysis or character limit optimization. The optional case-sensitive mode preserves uppercase/lowercase distinctions important for programming languages, while the remove duplicates feature simultaneously deduplicates during sorting—combining two operations into one efficient workflow for cleaner output.
Common Use Cases
📧 Contact Lists & Email Organization
Email marketing platforms and CRM systems often require alphabetically sorted contact lists for efficient segmentation, merge-deduplication, and campaign targeting. Sorting contacts by last name, company name, or email domain makes manual review easier, helps identify duplicate entries visually, and ensures consistent organization across multiple data sources before merging lists from different platforms.
After sorting alphabetically, use Remove Duplicates to eliminate repeated entries, then Trim Lines to clean whitespace formatting.
💻 Code Organization & CSS Sorting
Developers sort CSS properties alphabetically to maintain consistent style sheets across teams, making code reviews faster and reducing merge conflicts. Import statements in JavaScript, Python, or Go benefit from alphabetical sorting for better organization and easier maintenance. Sorting package dependencies, environment variables, or configuration keys creates predictable, scannable code that follows industry best practices and linting standards.
For code cleanup, combine with Remove Empty Lines to compact spacing, then Trim Lines for indentation consistency.
📊 Database Preparation & CSV Sorting
Database imports perform better with pre-sorted data, as sorted records optimize index creation, improve query performance, and make debugging easier when reviewing imported data. Sorting CSV files alphabetically or numerically before import into MySQL, PostgreSQL, or Excel ensures consistent ordering, helps identify data quality issues like duplicates or formatting errors, and meets requirements for systems expecting sorted input.
Sort first, then use CSV Safe to escape special characters and Remove Duplicates for clean imports.
📝 Reference Lists & Documentation
Glossaries, bibliographies, indexes, and reference sections in documentation require alphabetical sorting for usability. Technical documentation with API endpoints, configuration parameters, or command references becomes more accessible when sorted. Product catalogs, feature lists, and FAQ sections improve reader experience when organized alphabetically, making information retrieval faster and reducing reader frustration.
After sorting references, use Case Converter to standardize capitalization, then Word Counter to analyze documentation length.
How Line Sorting Works
Our sorting algorithm processes text line by line, applying your selected sort mode with optimized comparison functions. Alphabetical sorting uses JavaScript's localeCompare method for culturally-aware string comparison that handles accented characters, special symbols, and international alphabets correctly. Reverse sorting applies the same alphabetical logic but inverts the comparison order for Z-A descending results. The algorithm maintains stable sorting, meaning lines with identical sort keys preserve their original relative order.
Numeric sorting extracts the first number found in each line using pattern matching, then compares these numbers mathematically rather than lexicographically—ensuring "10" sorts after "2" instead of before it as would happen with alphabetical sorting. Lines without numbers are assigned a value of zero and sorted to the beginning. Length sorting compares character counts, arranging lines from shortest to longest, useful for analyzing text complexity, optimizing display layouts, or finding outliers in data sets.
The case-sensitive option controls whether uppercase and lowercase letters are treated as distinct—when enabled, "Apple" sorts before "apple" (uppercase first), when disabled, they sort together ignoring case differences. The remove duplicates feature identifies and eliminates identical lines after sorting, combining deduplication with sorting in one operation for cleaner results. All processing happens client-side in your browser with debounced input handling for smooth performance on large lists. No server upload occurs, ensuring privacy for sensitive data like customer lists, proprietary inventories, or confidential documentation.
Tips for Best Results
- 1.For email lists and contact data, use alphabetical A-Z sorting with case-insensitive mode (disabled case-sensitive), then enable "Remove Duplicates" to simultaneously sort and deduplicate. Follow up with Trim Lines to clean whitespace.
- 2.When sorting numbered lists or file names containing numbers (like "file1.txt", "file10.txt", "file2.txt"), use numeric sorting mode to get correct numerical order (1, 2, 10) instead of alphabetical order (1, 10, 2).
- 3.For code organization like CSS properties or import statements, use alphabetical A-Z with case-sensitive mode enabled to preserve language-specific capitalization. After sorting, use Remove Empty Lines to compact your code.
- 4.Before sorting CSV data, ensure each row is a complete line without embedded line breaks that would split records. After sorting, use CSV Safe to escape special characters before database import.