Filtering, or querying, is a quick and easy way to find and work with a subset of data so that you can display only the rows in your worksheet that meet the criteria you specify—for example, rows that contain specific text, or numbers that are greater than or less than a specific number. Filtering temporarily hides the rows that don’t meet your criteria so that you see only the data you’re interested in. Excel simplifies the power of filtering your data without your having to use a separate database. All you do is set up the filtering and select the items you want to display.

Filter the Data

1. Select the data you want to filter.

2. On the Data tab, click the Filter button.

3. Click the down arrow for the column you want to use as the filter, and select the item you want to use as the filter.

4. To filter by another column, click the down arrow for that column, and select the item you want to use as the filter. It’s easy to see which columns have filtering applied—they show a little filter icon instead of a black down arrow.

5. When you’ve finished with the filtered data and want to return it to its unfiltered state, click the Filter button on the Data tab again.

   
   

Tip

If your data is arranged so that you want to filter by rows, you must transform the data so that the rows become columns and the columns become rows. To make this happen, select the data and click Copy. Click in a blank area where you want to place the transformed data, click the down arrow at the bottom of the Paste button, and click Transpose in the drop-down list.