Alphabetical order sounds simple until real text shows up. Case differences, duplicate entries (useful to pair with the Duplicate Word Finder), leading articles like the, punctuation, and mixed numbers can make lists messy. This tool handles the details with options for case-insensitive comparison, ignore articles, natural numeric sort for items like file2 and file10, and deduplicate to wipe repeats.
Helpful companions while you sort: normalize spacing with the Whitespace and Formatting Cleaner, strip empty lines using Remove Empty Lines, reshape bullets with the Text ↔ List Converter, and count items with the Word & Character Counter. If you want to publish the list as a table, use the Quick Table Generator.
What the Alphabetizer does
- Tokenize smartly: Choose words, lines, or sentences as your unit.
- A-Z and Z-A: Standard alphabetical or reverse order, stable and predictable.
- Case handling: Case-insensitive mode for natural results, or prioritize uppercase first if you need it.
- Ignore leading articles: Sort by the next word after a, an, or the while keeping the original text unchanged.
- Natural numeric sort: file2 comes before file10, version1.9 before version1.10.
- Deduplicate and trim: Remove repeats, normalize whitespace, and collapse stray blanks.
- Locale aware: Pick a language locale when accent order matters. Need to inspect characters quickly? Try Symbol & Character Info.
- Export-friendly: Copy cleaned output or download as a text file for your CMS or docs.
- Privacy first: Everything runs client-side. Your data never leaves the page.
Quick start
- Open the Alphabetizer.
- Paste your list or paragraph (if starting from paragraphs, first convert with the Text ↔ List Converter).
- Select the token type: Lines, Words, or Sentences.
- Enable options like Ignore articles, Natural sort, and Remove duplicates.
- Sort A-Z or Z-A and copy the result.
Examples that work well
- Glossaries and indexes: Alphabetize terms and remove duplicates before publishing. For long glossaries, consider a quick pass with the Duplicate Word Finder.
- Reading lists: Sort titles ignoring the, a, and an.
- File inventories: Natural sort for numbered files and versions.
- UI copy and tags: Consistent ordering improves scanning and QA.
- Research notes: Convert paragraphs to lists with the Text ↔ List Converter then alphabetize.
Clean data in, tidy output out
Before sorting, remove stray blanks via Remove Empty Lines, normalize spacing with the Whitespace Cleaner, and use the free tools collection to spot issues quickly. Need to verify characters or accents for locale sorting? Check Symbol & Character Info. Creating sample lists for demos? Spin quick content with the Random Text Generator.
Accessibility and formatting tips
- Keep original casing: Sort case-insensitive but preserve the original text for readability.
- Document your rules: Note whether you ignore articles so teammates do the same. For longer policy docs, publish as a table using the Quick Table Generator.
- Export clearly: For long lists, publish as a table with the Quick Table Generator for better scanning and keyboard navigation.
Troubleshooting
- Unexpected order with accents: Set the appropriate locale or normalize characters with the Symbol tool.
- Duplicates remain: Turn on Remove duplicates and Trim items to collapse spacing differences, and consider a check with the Duplicate Word Finder.
- Numbers out of place: Enable Natural sort for versioned names and numbered files.
Related tools and guides
- Guide: Text ↔ List Converter for splitting and joining content before sorting.
- Remove Empty Lines to prep messy text.
- CSV to Responsive HTML Tables to publish your sorted lists.
- Duplicate Word Finder to catch repeated terms in drafts.
- Word & Character Counter to keep lists within limits.
- Whitespace & Formatting Cleaner guide for spacing and indentation fixes before sorting.