One thing you can do is to make use of a helper column and put this in row 2
of that column:

=INT(ROW()/2)+MOD(ROW(),2)/10

When you copy this down it will give you:

1
1.1
2
2.1
3
3.1

etc., so that rows are paired. If your sort field is column A, for example,
then you can amend the formula to:

=A1&"_"&TEXT(INT(ROW()/2)+MOD(ROW(),2)/10,"000.0")

and then copy this down instead. Include this field in your sort area and
sort on the helper column. You can delete the helper column when you've
finished with it.

Hope this helps.

Pete

"Claire" wrote in message
...
i need to link numerous pairs of rows in my spreadsheet so they stay
connected when i sort. when i try to do this by "group"ing, if i have 2
sets
of 2 that are grouped and live right next to one another, the 'group'
function automatically groups them all together. so instead of 2 separate
groups of 2 i get one group of 4. this is not helpful.

how can i 1) avoid this auto-grouping problem and maintain separate groups
side by side? or 2) is there a better way to do this?

thank you!