Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Using AutoFiltering.

Using AutoFiltering

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 5, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


1

Filtering a list means displaying only a part of it. You provide the criteria you want used and then Excel displays only those list records that match the criteria. Filtering is especially useful if you have a large list and you want to work with only a subset of the records in the list.

The easiest way to filter your list is to use the AutoFilter feature. You do this by following these steps:

  1. Select any cell in your list.
  2. Choose Filter from the Data menu. Excel displays a submenu.
  3. Select AutoFilter from the submenu. Excel determines where your column (field) labels are located and adds pull-down arrows to the right side of each label's cell.

AutoFilter is now alive and well in your workbook. If you click on one of these pull-down arrows, Excel displays the unique values in that column (field). You can then select one of the values and Excel displays only those records that match that value for that field. (The pull-down arrow then turns blue.) All the rest of the records in the list will be hidden.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2246) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Using AutoFiltering.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Using the Reviewing Toolbar

The Reviewing toolbar is a handy location for many of the tools often used by editors when working on a document. Here's ...

Discover More

Deleting Additional Clocks

Windows can display up to three separate clocks so you can keep track of what time it is in various time zones. If you ...

Discover More

Changing What Follows a Footnote Number

Word makes it easy to insert footnotes in your document. It doesn't, however, make it easy to change the format in which ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to automate any task in Excel and save time and effort. Learn how to extend Excel's functionality with VBA to create solutions not possible with the standard features. Includes latest information for Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. Check out Mastering Excel VBA Programming today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Filtering to a Date Range in the Past

If you have a large number of data records, each with an associated date, you might want to filter that data so you see ...

Discover More

Quickly Identifying Applied AutoFilters

Apply an AutoFilter to a worksheet, and you can quickly forget exactly what that AutoFilter entailed. Here are a couple ...

Discover More

Changing AutoFilter Drop-Down Arrow Colors

The drop-down arrow used at the top of columns by AutoFilter can be difficult to see. Here's a way you can reduce the ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is four less than 4?

2020-09-05 07:41:45

Steve Basford

I use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+SHIFT+L to turn the filter on and off.


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.