Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 5, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
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:
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.
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2020-09-05 07:41:45
I use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+SHIFT+L to turn the filter on and off.
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.
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