Excel Filter Shortcuts (Table of Contents)
Filter Shortcuts in Excel
The filter function is one of the most commonly used functions in Excel. It is used to filer the required data or relevant data from vast data. We can get the data we require, by selecting it from the filter drop down.
Before we look into the shortcuts to filter data, we must know what an Excel filter is. Excel Filter, is a quick way to show only the relevant information, removing all other data from the sheet. We can filter rows/columns in Excel worksheets on the basis of different criteria’s like by value, by format or by text and any other criteria. Once the filter is applied, we can then edit, copy paste and print that data.
There are various shortcuts to filter data In Excel. We do have keyboard shortcuts as well for the same. In this article, we will look into different Excel shortcuts to apply filter/remove in detail with examples. This will give you a fair understanding of it. You will then be able to use it in your work smoothly.
How to Use Filter Shortcut in Excel?
Filter Shortcut in Excel is very simple and easy to use. Let’s understand the working of filter shortcut in excel with some examples.
#1 – Toggle Autofilter in the ribbon
Excel Filter Shortcuts – Example #1
Here is a sample data on which we have to apply a filter.
- We have to first click on the Data tab and then click on Filter as shown below.
- Once we click the Filter tab on the ribbon, we will see that filter is applied to the data, that is on all the columns.
- Now if we want to see the name of consumers who have taken Business Growth Loan, we can select Business Growth Loan in the filter drop down and then click on OK as shown below:
- You will see the name of the consumers who have taken Business Growth Loan.
- To disable Filter, you just need to again click on the Filter in Ribbon in MS Excel.
Excel Filter Shortcuts – Example #2
- Now if we want to see how many consumers have taken a loan of 10000, we can apply the filter as shown below:
- On clicking Ok. You will then be able to filter the data as per your requirement.
#2 – Applying filter using “Sort and Filter” option on the Home tab, in the Editing Group
It can be found on the right side on the Ribbon in MS Excel.
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Using the above data, here is how we can apply the filter:
- To apply a filter, click on Sort & Filter then click on Filter option which is the fourth option in the dropdown.
Excel Filter Shortcuts – Example #3
- To filter the consumers who have taken a car loan.
- On clicking Ok. You will see the consumers who have taken a car loan.
Excel Filter Shortcuts – Example #4
Now if we need to filter some particular consumers, like their loan amount and their loan type. Suppose we want to know the above details for Arjit and Dipa, we will apply the filter as below:
- Now select Arjit and Dipa Manoj in filter dropdown and then click on Ok.
- We will then be able to see the relevant details.
- You can disable filter on the data by clicking on Sort and Filter option.
#3 – Filter the Excel data by shortcut key
We can rapidly press a shortcut key to apply the filter in our data. Together, we have to press Ctrl+shift+L.
Excel Filter Shortcuts – Example #5
Here is a sample data, on which we have applied the filter using the shortcut key.
- Select the data and then press the shortcut key to apply the filter i.e. Ctrl+shift+L.
- If we want to filter the status of the Agents, like Active and Terminated from the complete data, we will proceed as below:
- Press OK and we will see the Active and Terminated agents.
While applying filters on the selected criteria, we see other options as well as shown below:
On top of the filter drop down we see an option Sort A to Z, then we have Sort Z to A, Sort by color and Text filters.
Let’s look into these options. If we click on Sort A to Z, this is how we see the data:
The data is filtered and got sorted in order of A to Z. Likewise, if we click Sort Z to A, we will see the data as below:
The data is filtered and also got sorted in order of Z to A.
By clicking Sort by color, the data will be filtered as per our criteria and will also be sorted as per color of that cell, like if you select a cell colored red, that will be on the top.
And, if we click Text Filter:
We get an option for advanced filter for text, such as:
- Filter cells that Begin with or End with a specific text or character.
- Filter cells that Contains or Does not Contain a specific text or character.
- Filter cells that are either Equals to or Does not equal to a specific text or characters.
When we click on Does not equal to option and write Suspended in the dialogue box as shown below:
After we click “Ok”, we will see the data filtered as:
The data shows only Active and terminated status and not suspended.
Once you have applied the filter, you can disable it from that column as shown:
- Once we click, Clear Filter from “Status”, the filter will be cleared from Status column of the data.
To remove a filter from whole data, again press Ctrl+Shift+L.
Once you have filtered the data, you can copy it to any other worksheet or workbook. You can do this by selecting the filtered data or filtered cells by pressing Ctrl + A . Then Press Ctrl+C to copy the filtered data and go to another worksheet/workbook and paste the filtered data by pressing Ctrl+V.
Things to Remember about Filter Shortcuts in Excel
- Some Excel filters can be used one at a time. For Example, you can filter a column by either value or color at a time and not with both the options simultaneously.
- For better results, avoid using different value types in a column as for one column, one filter type is available. If a column contains different types of values, the filter will be applied for the data that has a high frequency. For example, if in a column the data is in number but is formatted as text then the text filter will be applied and not the number filter.
- Once you have filtered a column and pasted the data, remove a filter from that column because the next filter in a different column will not take into account that filter and hence the filtered data will be correct.
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