I love spreadsheets.
I expect any online form will export as a csv. Google Forms works great.
Saves right to a Google Sheet, and has summary charts.
Consider Col F: number of times participating —drop down: 1 (first time),
2, 3, 4+.
The csv will import nicely to Excel if you don’t want you use Google Forms
and sheets, but they are ideal for this.

Once you have the data, add a filter and sort by whichever column(s)  you
need.

Add data validation for email and phone number questions.

I am guessing these are adults?

On Mon, Jun 13, 2022 at 4:28 PM charles meyer <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Hi my esteemed listmates,
>
>
>
> I’m launching a new library contest.
>
>
>
> I’d like to be able to sort participants by their given and surnames and
> the names of their submitted project names alphabetically and for all the
> data included in the respective columns.
>
>
>
> I was contemplating this…
>
>
>
> Column A = Last name
>
> Column B = First name
>
> Column C = their email address
>
> Column D = their phone number
>
> Column E = their project name
>
> Column F = if they participated before (or first time) in any library
> program
>
>
>
> Say I wish to sort alphabetically by last or first name or by project name
> or by if they’re a 1st time participant, etc.
>
>
>
> I’ve learned with Excel it’s best to plan your columns for data before you
> start inputting their data.
>
>
>
> Would creating a Word Table in 365 be a better tool than Excel for this?
>
>
>
> I’m also trying to ensure that if I have the benefit of an online program
> (participants register on) I can export that data as a .csv file and that
> it will import all these fields into the correct respect columns?
>
>
>
> Ex. How do I ensure when I export the online file as a .csv that when it
> imports it doesn’t dump all the data into Column A but rather imports the
> last name into Column A, first name into Column B, etc.?
>
>
>
> Have you had to take extra measures to ensure all the data from an online
> program exports correctly into the Columns you’ set up in Excel or tables
> in Word?
>
>
>
> Thank you!
>
>
> Charles.
>
>
> Charles Meyer
>
> Charlotte County Public Library
>
> Port Charlotte, FL
>
-- 
Jackie Keith
[log in to unmask]