Titles that begin with a, an or the sort under the wrong letter in a naive alphabetisation.
Alphabetize List can trim each entry and ignore a leading article so titles sort by their key word.
How to use Alphabetize List
- Paste the list you want to alphabetise into the input box.
- Turn on trim or ignore-articles as needed, and Alphabetize List orders the entries accordingly.
- Copy the alphabetised list, or download it as a text file.
Use cases
- Alphabetising book or film titles by their main word.
- Sorting a list while ignoring a leading the or a.
- Cleaning ragged spacing before ordering a list.
Good to know
Alphabetize List sorts with locale-aware comparison and offers options to trim surrounding spaces from each line and to ignore a leading a, an or the when ordering, so titles sort by their first significant word.
Frequently asked questions
How are leading articles handled?
With the option on, a leading a, an or the is ignored for sorting so the title orders by the word that follows.
Does trimming change the saved text?
Yes. When trim is on, surrounding spaces are removed from each entry in the output as well as for sorting.
Is the ignored article removed from the entry?
No. The article is only skipped while comparing; it remains visible in the sorted line.