Amy,
No, that is not what was meant.
Insert a new column, on the first row place a 1, then
drag the fill handle down so the row 2 in the column gets a 2
row 3 gets a three, etc. You must not use a formula as that
would defeat the purpose of being able to sort things back
to the original order.
http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/fillhand.htm

The word "No" may be a little harsh if English is not your
native language, but you can't mix up rows and columns in
Excel and be understood.

If you actually were sorting within a row, you would have to
sort each row one at a time (in macro, preferably) and you
would not be able to restore the manner by a simple adaptation
of the instructions.

HTH,
David McRitchie, Microsoft MVP - Excel
My Excel Pages: http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/excel.htm
Search Page: http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/search.htm

"Amy Ilene" wrote in message ...
So I shoudl just insert a new row on top and label each column with a number,
then when I am done sort by those columns?

"Bob Umlas" wrote:

1 - re-open the file?
2 - before sorting, enter 1, 2, 3,... on a column. When done with your
manipulations, sort by this column & it'll be back in 1, 2, 3... order,
a.k.a. original.

"Amy Ilene" wrote in message
...
I have a very extensive chart that I keep breaking down, sorting, adding,
and
so forth. Is there a way that when I am done doing what I need, to return
to
the original way it was when I first started?