Sort Lines

Alphabetical vs Natural Sorting

Alphabetical sorting compares strings character by character. This creates unexpected results with numbers: 'item10' sorts before 'item2' because '1' comes before '2'. Technically correct, but often not what you want.

Natural sorting recognizes numbers within strings and sorts them numerically. 'item2' correctly appears before 'item10'. This produces results that match human expectations for mixed text-and-number content.

Common Sorting Scenarios

Developers and writers use line sorting for various tasks:

• Organizing lists of names, terms, or items alphabetically
• Sorting numbered items or versioned files naturally
• Arranging import statements or dependencies in code
• Cleaning up data exports before further processing
• Preparing glossaries, indexes, or reference lists

Understanding Sort Options

Case-insensitive mode treats uppercase and lowercase as equivalent during sorting. 'Apple' and 'apple' would be considered equal, with their original forms preserved but grouped together. Without this option, all uppercase letters sort before lowercase.

Reverse order inverts the sort direction. Alphabetical becomes Z to A, numerical becomes highest to lowest. Useful when you need descending order or want to see items from the end of the alphabet first.

Handling Special Characters and Unicode

The sort uses locale-aware comparison, meaning it handles accented characters and international text appropriately. Letters with diacritics sort near their base letters rather than being pushed to the end.

Special characters (punctuation, symbols) have their own sort positions defined by Unicode. If your text mixes special characters with regular text, results might not be immediately intuitive - special characters often sort before letters.

Performance with Large Files

Modern browsers handle thousands of lines without breaking a sweat. The sort algorithm is highly optimized, processing even substantial text files in milliseconds. There's no need to split large files or work in batches.

All processing happens locally in your browser. No upload, no server processing, no waiting for network round-trips. Your text stays private and results appear instantly.

Tips for Effective Sorting

Before sorting, consider whether natural or alphabetical order serves your needs better. For code or numbered lists, natural usually wins. For plain word lists, alphabetical is typically correct.

If results look wrong, check for hidden whitespace. Spaces at the start of lines can push them to unexpected positions. The 'trim' option on other text tools can help clean this up before sorting.