Using Filters in Excel

If you use Microsoft Excel, one of the features you'll use often is the filter feature. Enrolling in Microsoft Excel Training is a terrific idea where you can learn how to use filters to their fullest. In the meantime, here's a basic tutorial covering using filters in Excel.

First, you'll need a list of data before you can filter it. Create a simple list such as a list of products sold.

In this example, three products have been sold over six months by three different sales people. In its current form, the list has lots of information but it's hard to tell what it all means. By using a filter, you can get a better understanding of the data.

In order to filter data, simply click inside the list and then click the Sort and Filter icon found on the Home Ribbon. Choose Filter from the submenu. This puts a drop down arrow on each of the column headings. Select the heading that you want to sort by clicking the drop down arrow. A list of choices appears where you can choose exactly what you want to filter.

For example, if you're interested in how well a particular sales person is doing, you can filter the list based on the sales person as shown below:

Now, you'll see a list of data related to Joe Jones. From here, you can calculate the total value of the products sold or further analyze the data. A quick way to total the value is to highlight the price column and look at the Status Bar found at the bottom of the Excel window. You should see Average, Count and Sum listed.

Microsoft product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation

Want to learn more about using Excel? Choose either Microsoft Excel 2003 Training or Microsoft Excel 2007 Training and take charge of spreadsheet tasks including using filters.