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How to Apply Filters in Excel

< 1 minute read

mdblue storagetwo

Applying filters to your Excel spreadsheet can save you large amounts of time and clearly present the information you are looking for. No matter how large or small the amount of data you have, filters sort through an Excel column and can break down an overwhelming data table.

For example, if you need to filter through a long list of names for a webinar and find the first 25 registrants, you can sort the registration date column from oldest to newest. Another example is if you need to sort through the test grades of a Physics exam and count how many students scored above a B+. From the drop-down filter menu, you can apply filters to the test grade column to exclude the students that scored lower than a B+.

There are many different filter options you can apply to help you find the answers to many queries. Watch the video above and read the steps below to learn more:

  1. In your Excel spreadsheet, highlight the row of column headers you want to filter.
  2. Select the Sort and Filter button.
    • From the drop down, select Filter.
    • Grey boxes will appear in the highlighted row.
  3. Click the gray box in the column you want to filter.
    • A drop-down menu will appear with filtering options.
    • Select the filter option that suits you best and the column will sort as directed.
  4. In the bottom left of the spreadsheet, you will also notice a ticker that counts rows for you that you have sorted. (See video for details).

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