Excel Filter: show only the rows you want

A filter hides the rows you do not want to see. The data is still there — just out of the way.

What you will make

A list showing only the customers in one city.

Steps

1. Click any cell in your table. It needs a heading row.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + L. Small arrows appear on every heading.
3. Click the arrow on City.
4. Untick Select All, tick Pune, click OK.

Only Pune rows show. The row numbers turn blue and the arrow becomes a funnel — that is how you know a filter is on.

Check how many matched

Look at the bottom-left status bar: “2 of 3 records found”.

Filter by number or date

Click the arrow › Number Filters › Greater Than, Top 10, Above Average. For dates: Date Filters › This Month, Last Week, Between.

Filter by text

Text Filters › Contains, Begins With. Or just type in the search box inside the dropdown.

Two filters at once

Filter City to Pune, then filter Name too. Filters stack — a row must pass both.

Clear the filter

Click the funnel › Clear Filter From “City”. Or clear everything: Data › Clear. Press Ctrl + Shift + L again to remove the arrows completely.

Common mistakes

Blank row in the data. Excel stops the table at the first empty row, so rows below it are never filtered. Delete the blank row.

Copying filtered data. Copy and paste only takes the visible rows — that is usually what you want.