Excel - AutoFilter
Excel - AutoFilter
AutoFilter allows you to display a subset of your list. In order to use this function your data must be
set up in a strict fashion. The rules are:
Excel places drop-down arrows directly on the column labels of your list. Clicking the arrow alongside
an entry displays a list of all the unique items in the column. By selecting an item from a list for a
specific column you can instantly hide all rows except those that contain the selected value.
1. Place your cursor anywhere within the data you wish to use (your cursor must not be outside
of the data range)
2. On the Home ribbon select Sort & Filter – this is one of the last icons on the ribbon.
3. Choose Filter – notice your list now has drop down arrows alongside each header
5. To filter the selected column, deselect the records you do not want displayed (i.e., be sure
that only the records you want displayed are selected) TIP if you only want to make one
choice deselect Select All and then make your choice
6. Click OK
All rows fitting the criteria of the selected column are displayed.
NOTES:
When you use AutoFilter the row numbers of the displayed records turn blue, and the filter
results appear in the status bar (e.g., 1 of 12 records found).
The button at the top of the column changes to
To remove the filter from your Table, in the filtered column, click the » select Clear Filter From...
2. In the column you want to filter, click the select Text Filters or Number Filters » Custom
Filter…
NOTES:
If a column contains text, the Table filter pull-down list provides Text Filters; if the column
contains numbers, Number Filters are provided.
In the dialog box below, the column being filtered is called Amount and contains values
ranging from 134.78 to 987.32, which are displayed in ascending order in the Custom
AutoFilter pull-down list.
OPTIONAL: If you want multiple criteria, select either And or Or and repeat steps 3 and 4
EXAMPLE:
In the Comparison Operator pull-down list, select is less than
In the Corresponding pull-down list, type 500
Click OK
Your Table is filtered to display rows in the selected column containing values between 300
and 500
To remove the filter from your Table, in the filtered column, click the button and
select Clear Filter From...
That meet both specified The And option >3000 And <4500
criteria
Will display all rows with values that fall between 3000 and 4500
TIP You can also use wildcard characters (* or ?) to find approximate values.
Custom Filters
Clicking on the Custom option from the drop-down list within AutoFilter allows you construct a criteria
by using conditional operators as follows:-
Text Filters
2007 gives you some additional text filters which were not available in previous Excel versions. I you
choose Text Filters from a drop-down arrow against a heading when Filter is selected you will be
given the following choices: