{
  "id": 9286507,
  "title": "Google Sheets now plays more nicely with your imported Excel spreadsheets",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/google-sheets-now-plays-more-nicely-with-your-imported-excel",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-23T06:27:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Android Authority",
    "slug": "android-authority",
    "url": "https://www.androidauthority.com/google-sheets-reorder-sort-pivot-tables-3714348/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Google Sheets has implemented several enhancements to improve compatibility with imported Excel spreadsheets. Now, users can effortlessly drag and drop rows or columns within pivot tables, while the data hierarchy remains intact even when moving items with nested child elements.\n\nAdditionally, Google Sheets has ensured that custom-sorted pivot tables retain their sorting order when importing Excel spreadsheets. Previously, Sheets would revert pivot tables to a standard alphanumeric sort order upon import, but this issue has been resolved. Users can now seamlessly transfer custom sorting preferences between the two applications, facilitating a smoother workflow.\n\nFurthermore, Google has maintained the exact sorting order of pivot tables when exporting a Sheets file to an Excel spreadsheet. This feature ensures that the pivot table arrangement remains consistent across both platforms, allowing users to effortlessly navigate between Google Sheets and Excel without losing any formatting or sorting preferences.",
  "summary": "Sheets also brings improvements for handling pivot tables.",
  "key_points": [
    "Users can drag and drop rows/columns in pivot tables without losing hierarchy.",
    "Custom-sorted pivot tables retain sorting order during Excel imports.",
    "Pivot table sorting order maintained when exporting Sheets to Excel."
  ],
  "editors_take": "These enhancements enable smoother transfer of Excel spreadsheets to Google Sheets, allowing users to preserve pivot table formatting and custom sorting preferences across both platforms.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}