Filters and slicers are powerful tools in Excel that allow you to focus on specific data within a spreadsheet and quickly view and analyze different subsets of your data. In this article, we’ll go over how to use filters and slicers in Excel and how they can help you work more efficiently with your data.
Using Filters in Excel
Filters in Excel allow you to hide rows or columns that do not meet certain criteria, making it easier to focus on the data that is most relevant to you. Here’s how to use filters in Excel:
- Select the cells that you want to filter. This can be an entire column, a group of columns, or a range of cells within a single column.
- Click the “Data” tab in the ribbon and then click the “Filter” button in the “Sort & Filter” group. This will add drop-down arrows to each of the selected cells.
- Click the drop-down arrow for the column that you want to filter and select the criteria that you want to use to filter the data. For example, you might choose to only show rows where the “Status” column is “Completed” or where the “Quantity” column is greater than 10.
- If you want to apply multiple filters, you can repeat this process for each column that you want to filter. You can also use the “Custom Filter” option to create more complex filters using logical operators like “and” and “or“.
Using Slicers in Excel
Slicers in Excel are similar to filters, but they provide a more visual and interactive way to filter your data. Slicers allow you to quickly filter your data by clicking on the values that you want to include or exclude. Here’s how to use slicers in Excel:
- Select the cells that you want to filter. This can be an entire column, a group of columns, or a range of cells within a single column.
- Click the “Insert” tab in the ribbon and then click the “Slicer” button in the “Filters” group.
- In the “Insert Slicers” dialog box, select the columns that you want to use as slicers and click “OK“.
- Excel will create a slicer for each of the selected columns and display them on the sheet. To filter the data, simply click on the values that you want to include or exclude. You can also use the “Clear Filter” button in the slicer to remove all filters and show all of the data.
Tips for Using Filters and Slicers
- You can use the “Sort A to Z” and “Sort Z to A” buttons in the slicer to sort the values in ascending or descending order.
- You can use the “Search” field in the slicer to quickly find a specific value.
- You can use the “Format Slicer” option in the “Slicer Tools” tab to change the appearance of your slicers, including the font, colors, and layout.
- You can use the “Report Connections” option in the “Slicer Tools” tab to specify which pivot tables and pivot charts are connected to the slicer. This is useful if you have multiple pivot tables or charts on the same sheet and want to filter them all at the same time.
Filters and slicers in Excel are powerful tools that allow you to quickly view and analyze specific subsets of your data. Whether you’re working with a large dataset or just want to focus on a particular set of values, filters and slicers can help.
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