I can sort normally using mouse, but keyboard shortcut gives error

Question

When I select a cell range and go to Data>Sort Range>A to Z, it works perfectly!

but when I select a cell range and press Alt + D + S + A, then it gives me an error that few of my cells are merged (which they are), but those merged cells are not in the cell range I want to sort.

Answer 1

Wrong Shortcut

You are using the wrong keyboard shortcut.

1. The keyboard shortcut for sorting ascending a range by the first selected column,
   _{<x> is a column letter placeholder}

   ata > Sot Range > Sot Range by Column <X> (A-Z)

   should be one of the following ^*

   Alt+D R R
     
   Alt+Shift+D R R

2. The keyboard shortcut you are using,

   Alt+D S A

   is for sorting (ascending) the entire sheet by the first selected column, and since it is sorting the entire sheet, any merged cells outside the selection are therefore included.

---

* If you have 'Compatible spreadsheet shortcuts' enabled, you need to use Alt+Shift. If you do not, you can use either Alt+Shift or Alt.

The toggle is accessed using Ctrl+/ and under Help >Keyboard shortcuts