Using AutoFilter

Your worksheet may contain long columns of information, but you may want to view only a certain part of the column at one time. Using the AutoFilter tool in Excel allows you to easily sort a column of information and only display the parts you want or need.

To filter a column using Autofilter:

  1. Click the heading of the column you want to filter.
  2. Point to Filter on the Data menu and select AutoFilter.
  3. Click the arrow in the column you want to filter.
  4. Select the criteria you want to sort the column by.


  • When a column is filtered, the filter arrow will turn from black to blue.
  • To remove AutoFilter, select AutoFilter under Filter on the Data menu. The arrow and filter lists will disappear.

Excel creates a list of filters based on the first 1000 unique entries. You can also filter columns by number and text. To show all entries in a column, select (All).