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Excel filter shortcut

Your manager only wants to see the North orders. Filter the list so just those rows show. The list runs from row 1 to row 16.

Click a cell in the list and press Filter on the Data tab (Ctrl+Shift+L). Arrows appear in the header row: open the one in Region and keep only North. Watch out for empty rows: the filter stops at the first one, unless you select the whole list first.

14 Filter to what matters Filter Starter

orders.xlsx
Ready

Click a cell while typing to insert it, drag to select a range, F4 adds $, Esc cancels.

Tap a cell while writing a formula to insert it, or slide across cells for a range. The strip above the keyboard has = ( ) : , $.

The Filter guide

Click a cell in your list and press Ctrl+Shift+L (⌘⇧F on a Mac), or Data → Filter. Arrows appear in the header row; pick the values to keep and Excel hides the other rows without deleting them.

StarterAbout 3 minutesBy Updated

Filter in three steps

  1. Click any cell in the list (or select the whole list, see below).
  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+L, or Data → Filter. Each header cell gets an arrow.
  3. Open the arrow in the column you care about, untick (Select All), tick the values to keep and press OK.

Hidden rows are still there: totals made with SUM still count them. Press the shortcut again to turn the filter off and show everything.

The empty-row trap

With one cell selected, Excel filters the "current region": the block of filled cells around it. An empty row ends that block. In a list with a gap at row 9, the filter covers rows 1 to 8 only, and everything below the gap stays visible whatever you pick. It looks filtered at a glance, which is why it gets missed.

The fix: before turning the filter on, select the whole list, header to last row (Ctrl+Shift+↓ helps, pressed until it reaches the end). Or delete the empty row if it shouldn't be there.

Filtering by more than one thing

Filters add up: filter Region to North, then Rep to Lena, and you see Lena's North orders. A column with an active filter shows a funnel on its arrow. Data → Clear removes every filter at once.

Count what's left

SUBTOTAL(103, A2:A16) counts only the visible rows and SUBTOTAL(109, D2:D16) adds only the visible amounts, so a total under the list follows the filter. Excel's status bar also shows "X of Y records found".

FAQ

What is the shortcut for filter in Excel?
Ctrl+Shift+L on Windows turns the filter on and off. On a Mac it is Cmd+Shift+F. Alt+Down Arrow opens the filter menu of the selected header cell.
Why is my Excel filter not working on all rows?
There is probably an empty row in the list: the filter stops there. Turn it off, select the whole list from the header to the last row, and turn it on again.
Does filtering delete rows?
No. Filtered rows are hidden, not deleted. Turn the filter off, or choose (Select All), to see them again.
How do I sum only the filtered rows?
Use SUBTOTAL(109, range) or AGGREGATE(9, 5, range). SUM adds the hidden rows too.

This task is in the timed office and admin and basic Excel practice tests. What Excel interview tests check

All challenges

  1. 01Starter, 3 min Add it upSUM
  2. 02Starter, 3 min Find the averageAVERAGE
  3. 03Starter, 3 min Smallest and largestMIN, MAX
  4. 04Starter, 3 min Count what's thereCOUNT, COUNTA, COUNTBLANK
  5. 05Starter, 3 min Write once, fill downRelative references
  6. 06Core, 3 min Lock it with $Absolute references
  7. 07Starter, 3 min Percent of a totalPercentages
  8. 08Starter, 3 min Make the numbers readableNumber formats
  9. 09Core, 3 min Up or down by how much?Percent change
  10. 10Core, 3 min What you see vs what's storedROUND
  11. 11Core, 3 min The typical valueMEDIAN
  12. 12Core, 3 min Select to the end in one moveCtrl + Shift + arrow
  13. 13Starter, 3 min Sort without breaking rowsSort
  14. 14Starter, 3 min Filter to what mattersFilter
  15. 15Starter, 3 min Copy and paste a formulaCtrl+C, Ctrl+V
  16. 16Core, 3 min Paste values onlyPaste Special → Values
  17. 17Core, 3 min Highlight what's over targetConditional formatting
  18. 18Core, 3 min Spot the duplicatesDuplicate Values rule
  19. 19Core, 3 min Pass or fail?IF
  20. 20Core, 3 min Both or either?AND, OR
  21. 21Core, 3 min Exactly one of the twoXOR
  22. 22Core, 3 min Grade bands with nested IFNested IF
  23. 23Core, 3 min Count the ones that matchCOUNTIF
  24. 24Core, 3 min Add up the ones that matchSUMIF
  25. 25Core, 3 min Use a cell as the conditionCriteria in a cell
  26. 26Core, 3 min Partial matches with * and ?SUMIF, COUNTIF with wildcards
  27. 27Core, 3 min Count with two conditionsCOUNTIFS
  28. 28Core, 3 min Add up with two conditionsSUMIFS
  29. 29Core, 3 min Look it upVLOOKUP
  30. 30Core, 3 min Find the right bracketVLOOKUP approximate match
  31. 31Core, 3 min XLOOKUP, the modern wayXLOOKUP
  32. 32Core, 3 min Where is it in the list?MATCH
  33. 33Advanced, 3 min INDEX and MATCH togetherINDEX + MATCH
  34. 34Advanced, 3 min Lock just the row or the columnMixed references
  35. 35Advanced, 3 min Growth per year (CAGR)CAGR with ^
  36. 36Core, 3 min Use a rate from another sheetReferences to other sheets
  37. 37Core, 3 min Catch the error, not the bugIFERROR
  38. 38Core, 3 min Which invoices are missing?Compare two lists
  39. 39Core, 3 min Reconcile the ledger with the bankXLOOKUP or VLOOKUP + IFNA
  40. 40Core, 3 min Join text together&, CONCAT, PROPER
  41. 41Core, 3 min Split first and last namesLEFT, MID + FIND
  42. 42Core, 3 min Stray spaces that break a countTRIM
  43. 43Core, 3 min Flag the bad entriesTRIM, LEN, EXACT
  44. 44Advanced, 3 min Clean a bank descriptionTEXTBEFORE, TEXTAFTER, PROPER
  45. 45Core, 3 min Mistake hunt: #N/A everywhereFixing #N/A
  46. 46Core, 3 min Mistake hunt: hard-coded numbersReferences instead of typed numbers
  47. 47Core, 3 min Mistake hunt: numbers stored as textNumbers stored as text
  48. 48Core, 3 min One of each, then the totalsUNIQUE
  49. 49Core, 3 min Your first pivot tablePivot tables
  50. 50Advanced, 3 min Which category went up most?SUMIFS, change, lookup
  51. 51Core, 3 min How many days late?Date arithmetic
  52. 52Core, 3 min Turn text into real datesDATEVALUE
  53. 53Advanced, 3 min Month ends and working daysEOMONTH, NETWORKDAYS
  54. 54Core, 3 min Renewal datesEDATE
  55. 55Core, 3 min Days overdue and aging bandsDate difference, aging bands
  56. 56Core, 3 min How many late orders?Pick the tool
  57. 57Core, 3 min Sales per repPick the tool
  58. 58Core, 3 min Whose part is it?Pick the tool
  59. 59Core, 3 min Who gets the bonus?Pick the tool
  60. 60Core, 3 min Each region's sharePick the tool
  61. 61Advanced, 3 min Case: the supplier reportCase, five steps
  62. 62Advanced, 3 min Case: the monthly budgetCase, five steps
  63. 63Advanced, 3 min Case: the reorder listCase, five steps

The whole course, in order.

The challenges teach one move each. The course puts them in order and makes you do each one twice, the second time on data you haven't seen.

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