3/17/2015

FourusefulExcelfilteringbehaviorsTechRepublic

MICROSOFT

FourusefulExcelfilteringbehaviors

BySusanHarkinsMarch16,2015,1:52PM
PST

Excel'sfilteringfeatureishelpful,butaddabitofcreativityanditbecomes
muchmore.SusanHarkinsexplains.

Excel'sAutoFilterfeatureiseasytoimplementanduse,butitcandomorethanfirstmeetsthe
eye.Thetrickistobeabitcreative.Thetipsinthisarticlearen'trelatedinanywaytheyall
extendthefeatureoruseittocompleteanonfilteringtask.
Foryourconvenience,youcandownloadthe.xlsx
(http://b2b.cbsimg.net/downloads/Thompson/ExcelFilterDemo.xlsx)or.xls
(http://b2b.cbsimg.net/downloads/Thompson/ExcelFilterDemo.xls)demonstrationfile,butyoucanworkwith

anysimpledataset.ThearticleincludesinstructionsforExcel2010,butitalsoprovidessteps
forExcel2003whensignificantlydifferent.

AboutAutoFilter
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Excel'sAutoFilterfeatureinsertsaneasytouseinterfacethatmakesfilteringrecordsquick
andefficient.Onceyouapplythefiltertothedataset,yousimplychoosethenaturaldatato
displayrecordsthatmatchthespecifiedvalue.It'slimited,andoftenyou'llneedtobumpup
yourfilteringtotheadvancedfeatures,butitmakesquickworkoutofsimplefilteringtasks.
ToengagetheAutoFilterfeature,clickanyvalueinthedataset.ClicktheDataset,andthen
clickFilterintheSort&Filtergroup.Excelwilldisplaydropdownstotheheadercellforeach
columninthedataset.Clickthesedropdownstofilterbyexistingvaluesineach
correspondingcolumn.Toclearafilter,clickClearinthesamegroup.InExcel2003,choose
FilterfromtheDatamenu,andthenselectAutoFilter(toclearafilter,uncheckAutoFilter).

Countfilteredrecords
YoucanlearnthenumberofrecordsthatsatisfyafilterbyglancingattheStatusbar.Asyou
canseeinFigureA,thecurrentfilterdisplaysthreeofsevenrecordsfound.Withaquick
glance,youcanlearntwothings:thedatasethasatotalofsevenrecords,andthreeofthose
recordsmatchthecurrentfilter.It'sahandyfeature,butnotallofthatusefulbecauseyoucan't
reusetheinformation.Inaddition,olderversionsofExcelhaveaknownissuewiththisdisplay
it'sinconsistent.
FigureA

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TheStatusbardisplaysthenumberofrecordsinafilteredset.

Ifyou'dliketoreturnacountofqualifyingrecordswithinthesheetitself,usethefollowing
SUBTOTAL()function,asshowninFigureB:
=SUBTOTAL(2,B4:B10)
Withoutafilter,thefunctionreturnsthetotalnumberofrecords(seven)inthedataset.
FigureB

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UseSUBTOTAL()toreturnthenumberofrecordsthatmeetthecurrentfilter.

Now,specifyafilterandwatchthatnumberupdateaccordingly:
1. ClicktheYeardropdown.
2. Uncheck(SelectAll).InExcel2014,select2014,andyou'redone.
3. Check2014(FigureC).
FigureC

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4. ClickOK.Thefilteredsetcontainsthreerecords(FigureD).
FigureD

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Whenthecountistheresultofafunction,youcaneasilyreusethatvalue.TheStatusbar
countisgoodinformation,butyoucan'treuseit.
TheSUBTOTAL()functionoffersmanypossibilitiesforsummarizingfilteredsets.Forinstance,
ifyouwantedtosumAmountvalues,you'dusethefunctionSUBTOTAL(9,C4:C10).TableA
definesthisfunction'snumberargument.
TableA

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Entersamevalueinnoncontiguousrange
Occasionally,you'llendupwithblankcellsthatneedvalues,asshowninFigureE.When
enteringthesamevalue,youcantakeadvantageoffilteringinacreativeway,evenifyou're
notusingittofilterrecords!
FigureE

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Youmightendupwithblankcellsthatneedvalues.

Byfilteringtheblanks,youcanquicklyenterthevalueinalltheblanksatonce,asfollows:
1. IfAutoFilterisn'timplemented,enableitforyourdataset.
2. TheblanksareintheYearcolumn,soclickthatdropdownarrow.
3. Uncheck(SelectAll).InExcel2003,select(Blanks),andskiptostep6.
4. Check(Blanks).
5. ClickOK.
6. Intheresultingfilteredset,selecttheblanks.Inthiscase,that'sB5:B7(FigureF).
Remember,oneoftherowsishiddenbythefilter.
FigureF

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7. Type2014,butdon'tpressEnteryet.
8. Press[Ctrl]+[Enter]toenterthecurrentvalue,2014,ineachselectedcell(FigureG).
FigureG

9. ClearthefilterbyclickingClearintheSort&Filtergroup(FigureH).
FigureH

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10. Ifyoudon'tneedthefilter,clickFilterintheSort&Filtergrouptoremoveit.
YoumighthavenoticedthattheSUBTOTAL()functionupdatedafewtimes.Thisfunction
excludesblankswhenevaluating.That'swhyitreturnedfivewhenB5andB7wereemptyand
zeroafterfilteringforblanks.

Ungroupdates
Bydefault,Excel'slistoffilteringitemswillgroupdates,asyoucanseeinFigureI.(To
illustratethisbehavior,Ichangedtheyearvaluestofulldates.)Bydefault,theitemsare
collapsed.Clicktheplussign[+]toexpandthelistclicktheminussign[]tocollapsealist.
(Thisbehaviordoesn'tapplytoExcel2003.)
FigureI

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Excelgroupsdateswhenfiltering.

Mostusersprobablythinkthisaconvenientshortcut.However,ifyoufindyourselfclicking
throughlayersofdatecomponents,youcanupgroupdatefilteringvaluesasfollows:
1. ClicktheFiletab,andchooseOptions.
2. Intheleftpane,chooseAdvanced.
3. IntheDisplayoptionsforthisworkbooksection,unchecktheGroupdatesintheAutoFilter
menuoption(FigureJ).
FigureJ

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4. ClickOK.
DisablingthisoptionforcesExceltodisplayliteraldates,asshowninFigureK.
FigureK

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DisablingthisoptionforcesExceltodisplayliteraldates.

Filterbytheselectedvalue
AccessletsyoufilterbytheselectedvaluethefeatureiscalledFilterBySelection.Excelcan
dothattoo,butyou'llhavetoaddtheoptiontotheQuickAccessToolbar(QAT)toaccessit.
Onceyoudo,youcanbypasstheAutoFilterdropdownsandinsteadselectacellthatcontains
thevalueyouwanttofilterbyandthenclicktheFilterBySelectionoptionontheQAT.
ToaddtheFilterBySelectionoptiontotheQATdothefollowing:
1. ClicktheQATdropdownandchooseMoreCommands.
2. Intheresultingwindow,selectCommandsNotintheRibbonfromtheChoosecommands
fromdropdown.
3. Intheresultinglist,selectAutoFilter(theonewiththeequalssignintheicon).
4. ClickAdd(FigureL).
FigureL

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5. ClickOK.
InExcel2003,chooseCustomizefromtheToolsmenu.ClicktheCommandstab,andselect
DatafromtheCategorieslist.ChoosetheAutoFilteritemanddragittothetoolbar.
Toputthenewoptiontouse,selectanyvalueinthedatasetandclicktheFilterBySelection
iconintheQAT.FigureMshowstheresultsofselecting1/3/2015inB5andthenclickingthe
option(circledinFigureM).
FigureM

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UseFilterBySelectionforevenquickerfiltering.

SendmeyourquestionaboutOffice
Ianswerreaders'questionswhenIcan,butthere'snoguarantee.Whencontactingme,beas
specificaspossible.Forexample,"Pleasetroubleshootmyworkbookandfixwhat'swrong"
probablywon'tgetaresponse,but"Canyoutellmewhythisformulaisn'treturningthe
expectedresults?"might.Pleasementiontheappandversionthatyou'reusing.I'mnot
reimbursedbyTechRepublicformytimeorexpertise,nordoIaskforafeefromreaders.You
cancontactmeatsusansalesharkins@gmail.com.

Alsosee
HowtousepictureplaceholdersforeasyplacementandcroppinginPowerPoint
(http://www.techrepublic.com/article/howtousepictureplaceholdersforeasyplacementandcroppingin
powerpoint/)

OfficeQ&A:MaskandmergeAccessinput,detourOutlookreplies
(http://www.techrepublic.com/article/officeqamaskandmergeaccessinputdetouroutlookreplies/)

5thingseverydatascientistshouldknowaboutExcel(http://www.techrepublic.com/article/5things
everydatascientistshouldknowaboutexcel/)

HowtosumvaluesinanExcelfilteredlist(http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/microsoftoffice/howto
sumvaluesinanexcelfilteredlist/)

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AboutSusanHarkins
SusanSalesHarkinsisanITconsultant,specializingindesktopsolutions.Previously,shewaseditor
inchiefforTheCobbGroup,theworld'slargestpublisheroftechnicaljournals.

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