How might I randomise some spreadsheet rows once I populate it?
April 1, 2016 5:22 AM   Subscribe

I'm developing a training resource for a client and the brief requires me to provide some spreadsheets that summarise employment data for a small fictitious company. The spreadsheets must have one row per employee. I want to populate the rows as if the spreadsheet has already been sorted, for example by grouping employees by age, and then randomise the rows so students are given spreadsheets where there is no row by row pattern to the data, for example as if employees had been entered in alphabetical order.

Each sheet will have columns that include age, gender, time with the employer, and some yearly financial data on training costs. There will not be any names. These data requirements are set in stone - the spreadsheets have to appear like this. They also need to have the rows randomised.

Students will sort and filter the data then convert their results into charts in order to extract some key headline findings. For example, they might first sort into age bands and then by time with the company, to find a simple pattern.

I have the findings I need to generate, for example that the youngest employees have the shortest employment period with the company, and it seems easiest to be able to generate the results I need by creating each spreadsheet as if it had already been sorted by students. But I don't know how I could then sort or filter the spreadsheet so these organised rows then become at least seemingly random. Any ideas?
posted by dowcrag to Computers & Internet (2 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Add a column to the right of the data with:

=RAND()

...then sort by that column and delete it.
posted by pompomtom at 5:27 AM on April 1, 2016 [10 favorites]


Best answer: A hidden column with RAND() that you sort by -- every time you refresh, the values would be different, so the sort would always be random.
posted by slipthought at 5:27 AM on April 1, 2016 [3 favorites]


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