Which method allows you to sort data by more than one column, specifying primary and secondary sort keys?

Which method allows you to sort data by more than one column, specifying primary and secondary sort keys?

• A. Sort by the first column only
• B. Use a multi-level sort with primary and secondary keys
• C. Sort by alphabetical order of all columns
• D. Manually rearrange rows

Answer: (B)

Multi-level sorting lets you specify a primary key and a secondary key to determine the order, so you can sort by more than one column and break ties in a predictable way. You set the first column as the main sort, and when two rows share that value, the second column decides their order, and you can expand with additional keys if needed. For example, sorting by department first and then by last name means all items from the same department appear grouped together, and within each department they’re listed alphabetically by last name. This approach handles duplicates cleanly, unlike sorting by the first column alone, which leaves ties unresolved, or sorting by every column separately, which doesn’t create a single, prioritized order. Manually rearranging rows is impractical for larger datasets and prone to mistakes.

Multi-level sorting lets you specify a primary key and a secondary key to determine the order, so you can sort by more than one column and break ties in a predictable way. You set the first column as the main sort, and when two rows share that value, the second column decides their order, and you can expand with additional keys if needed. For example, sorting by department first and then by last name means all items from the same department appear grouped together, and within each department they’re listed alphabetically by last name. This approach handles duplicates cleanly, unlike sorting by the first column alone, which leaves ties unresolved, or sorting by every column separately, which doesn’t create a single, prioritized order. Manually rearranging rows is impractical for larger datasets and prone to mistakes.