The basic way to add a filter in Excel

To filter data in Excel, select any cell in your data table, then click the Data tab at the top of the screen. In the toolbar, click Filter (or AutoFilter in older versions). Excel will add dropdown arrows to the header row of your table — the row with column names like "Name," "Date," or "Amount."

Click any dropdown arrow to see your filtering options. You can uncheck items you don't want to see, or use the search box to find specific values. When you click OK, Excel hides the rows that don't match your choices. The row numbers on the left turn blue to show that some rows are hidden, not deleted.

To remove the filter entirely, go back to the Data tab and click Filter again. The dropdown arrows disappear and all rows reappear. If you want to keep the filter but show all rows again, click a dropdown arrow and select Clear Filter.

Key Takeaways

  • Click Data > Filter to add dropdown arrows to your header row, then click any arrow to hide rows that don't match your choice.
  • Filtering hides rows temporarily — it does not delete them, and you can show them again at any time.
  • You can filter by text (like a person's name), by number (like sales over $1,000), or by date (like orders from the last 30 days).
  • Multiple filters work together: if you filter by name and by date at the same time, you see only rows that match both conditions.
  • The blue row numbers on the left side of the screen tell you that some rows are hidden by a filter.

Filtering by text or partial matches

When you click a dropdown arrow in a text column, you see a list of every unique value in that column. Uncheck the items you want to hide. For example, if your column lists cities and you uncheck "Boston" and "Chicago," Excel shows only rows for the remaining cities.

If your list is long, use the search box at the top of the dropdown. Type part of the text you want — like typing "Bos" to find "Boston" — and Excel narrows the list to matches. This is faster than scrolling through hundreds of entries.

You can also use Text Filters for more control. Click the dropdown arrow, then click Filter > Text Filters (the exact menu name varies by Excel version). You can then choose options like "begins with," "contains," or "ends with." This lets you show only rows where a name starts with "J" or where a product description contains the word "wireless."

Filtering by numbers and ranges

Number columns work the same way as text — click the dropdown and uncheck the numbers you don't want to see. But for numbers, you usually want a range rather than individual values. Click the dropdown arrow, then look for Number Filters or Standard Filter.

From there, you can choose conditions like "greater than," "less than," "between," or "equals." For example, to see only sales over $5,000, select greater than and type 5000. To see sales between $1,000 and $10,000, select between and enter both numbers. Excel then shows only the rows that meet your condition.

Filtering by date

Date columns have their own filtering options. Click the dropdown arrow in a date column and you will see options like Date Filters or By Date. Excel offers shortcuts like "Today," "Last Week," "This Month," or "Last Quarter" — click one and Excel automatically shows only rows from that time period.

If you need a custom date range, select Between and enter a start date and end date. Excel shows only rows where the date falls within that range. This is useful for reports that cover a specific month or quarter.

Using multiple filters at once

You can filter by more than one column at the same time. For example, filter your sales data to show only "New York" in the city column and only dates after January 1. Excel shows only rows that match both conditions — the intersection of your filters, not the combination.

Each filter you add narrows the results further. If you filter by city, then by sales amount, then by date, you see only rows where all three conditions are true. To remove one filter without removing the others, click its dropdown arrow and select Clear Filter. The other filters stay in place.

Sorting filtered data

After you filter, you can sort the remaining rows. Click the dropdown arrow in any column and select Sort A to Z (for text), Sort Smallest to Largest (for numbers), or Sort Oldest to Newest (for dates). Excel sorts only the visible rows — the hidden ones stay hidden and do not move.

This is useful when you have filtered to a subset of data and want to see the most important rows first. For example, filter to show only "pending" orders, then sort by date to see the oldest ones at the top.

When filters get confusing

If you filter data and then add new rows below your table, the filter does not automatically explore to the new rows. To include them, select the entire new data range (including the new rows) and reapply the filter. Click Data > Filter to turn it off, then click it again to turn it back on with the larger range.

If you copy filtered data and paste it elsewhere, Excel copies only the visible rows — the hidden ones are not included. This is usually what you want, but it can be surprising if you expected all rows. To copy everything, remove the filter first, copy, then reapply the filter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does filtering delete my data?

No. Filtering hides rows temporarily. Your data is still there. When you remove the filter or click Clear Filter, all rows reappear unchanged. You can filter and unfilter as many times as you want without losing anything.

Can I filter by more than one value in the same column?

Yes. Click the dropdown arrow, uncheck the values you want to hide, and keep checked the ones you want to see. For example, in a status column, you can uncheck "Cancelled" and "On Hold" to show only "Pending" and "Completed" rows. All checked values appear together.

What if I filter and then realize I need to see a hidden row?

Click the dropdown arrow in that column and select Clear Filter, or go to Data > Filter to turn off all filters. The hidden rows reappear. You can then reapply the filter if you want.

Can I save a spreadsheet with filters turned on?

Yes. When you save an Excel file, the filters stay in place. The next time you open the file, the same rows will be hidden. If you want to share the file with all rows visible, remove the filter before saving.

What is the difference between filtering and sorting?

Filtering hides rows that do not match your choice — you see a subset of your data. Sorting rearranges all rows in a specific order (like A to Z or smallest to largest) without hiding anything. You can use both at the same time: filter first to see only the rows you care about, then sort those rows.