Understanding Outlining

Excel includes a feature that allows you to outline your data. This simply means that Excel analyzes your data and assigns different rows to different "levels." These levels can then be selectively hidden or displayed, depending on your needs. An outline is handy for getting a quick understanding of large amounts of data.

You can create an outline in several ways:

• Insert automatic subtotals. Select a cell in a data list, then choose Subtotals from the Data menu. (Display the Data tab of the ribbon in Excel 2007, then click on Subtotal in the Outline group.)
• Let Excel automatically outline your data list. Select the list that you want outlined, then choose Group and Outline from the Data menu, then Auto Outline from the resulting submenu. (If you are using Excel 2007, display the Data tab of the ribbon, click Group from the Outline group, then click Auto Outline.)
• Manually outline your data list. Select the data you consider to be detail information, then choose Group and Outline from the Data menu, then Group from the resulting submenu. (In Excel 2007, display the Data tab of the ribbon, click Group from the Outline group, then click Group.) Repeat the process for all other detail information in the data list.

Once your data is outlined, outline symbols appear at the left side of the worksheet. You can display different levels of data by using the mouse to click on the various symbols.