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: Filtering Columns.

Filtering Columns

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 3, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Mayur knows that he can use Excel's filtering capabilities to select which rows in a data table are displayed, but wonders if there is a way to filter by column. In other words, he can now filter vertically, but he would like to filter his data horizontally.

The short answer is that there isn't a way. Excel, when used to store data, follows a database paradigm that equates rows with records and columns with fields in each record. Classical filtering is done by examining values in columns (fields) and thereby determining which rows (records) should be displayed based on what is found there.

The easiest way to filter your data the way you want is to transpose it before filtering. Copy all your data (select it and press Ctrl+C), and then on a different worksheet use the Transpose option of Paste Special. You can display this dialog box by choosing Edit | Paste Special.

Once your data is transposed (rows become columns and columns become rows), you can then use Excel's built-in filtering tools as you normally would.

If you prefer to not transpose your data, you will need to resort to less automatic solutions. For instance, you could manually figure out which columns you want to hide ("filter out") and then actually hide those columns. When you are done hiding all the columns you want hidden, you could define a custom view (as described in other ExcelTips) to save how the worksheet appears.

Finally, you could always create a PivotTable from your data. You can then, in the PivotTable, use the filtering tools to determine what data is shown in the table. The tools there will work on both row fields and column fields.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (7453) 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: Filtering Columns.

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. ...

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