Sorting Calc entries as Book/page correctly

[Hector1]

I’m using Libreoffice 6.4.7.2, and I have to download spreadsheet files from my office site which contain entries in each cell as “Book number/Page number”. So If book number is 1680, and it has pages from 1 to 100, then page 68 will have entry as 1680/68 and so on.

The problem is, I want to sort the data in increasing order of book, with increasing order of pages. Like 1680/1, then next cell should be

1680/2…

1680/100, then

1681/1

1681/2…

1680/100. I’m getting 1680/1

1680/100

1680/11…

1680/2

1680/20 when I apply simple sorting technique. The only workaround for now is to change every page entry after the slash as 001, 002, 003… 100. Is there any efficient way to achieve the desired result? Thanks.

[anon73440385]

and why don’t you simply design two separate columns “BookNr” and “PageNr” and 1st sort by BookNr and then by PageNr?

[Lupp]

What @anon73440385 told (worded as a question) is clearly the best advice. However, users less familiar with spreadsheets often insist against good advice in uising compounds (and in facing resulting problems later one by one if they occur).
The sorting tool offers the option Enable natural sort for cases like the given one as an alternative usable with compounds (within limits).
Beyond that: Don’t use the slash or a comma or a point when separating numbers in compounds. “Recognizing” processes of Calc may be mislead in special cases by them like also human readers.
1068 p 13 would be appropriate.

[Hector1]

I don’t design that spreadsheet. It’s already that way when I download it from my work website. Is there any way I can separate BookNr and PageNr in two different columns with slash as a dividing point? Mind that the entries are more than 600 on average so I don’t want to separate them manually.

[Lupp]

Concerning the comment by @Hector1:
The appropriate tool is >Data>Text to Columns...
See attachment.
ask313022anotherSortProblem1.ods

[mariosv]

I think enabling natural sort does the job.