There are two types of filter options available when using AutoFilter: filtering by a list value and filtering by criteria. These two types of filters are mutually exclusive for each range of cells or column table.
Filtering by a list value allows you to filter data based on specific values from a list. This is particularly useful when you have a predefined list of values that you want to filter your data by. For example, if you have a column of names and you want to filter the data to only show rows where the name is either “John” or “Sarah”, you can use the list value filter to select those specific names from the list.
On the other hand, filtering by criteria allows you to filter data based on specific criteria or conditions. This type of filter is more flexible as it allows you to set up custom criteria to filter your data. For example, you can filter data to show only rows where the value in a certain column is greater than a specific number, or where the text in a certain column contains a certain word or phrase.
To use the list value filter, you can simply click on the drop-down arrow in the header of the column you want to filter, and then select the values you want to include or exclude from the filter. You can also select multiple values from the list to further narrow down your filter.
To use the criteria filter, you can click on the drop-down arrow in the header of the column you want to filter, and then select the “Filter by Color” option. This will open the filter criteria window where you can set up your custom criteria. You can choose from various criteria options such as equals, does not equal, greater than, less than, contains, does not contain, and many more.
Both types of filters can be useful in different scenarios. The list value filter is handy when you have a specific list of values that you want to filter by, while the criteria filter allows for more flexibility and customization in filtering your data.
In my personal experience, I have used both types of filters extensively in my work with Excel. I often find myself using the list value filter when I have a predefined list of values that I want to filter my data by, such as filtering a list of products by certain categories or filtering a list of employees by specific departments. On the other hand, the criteria filter has been incredibly useful when I need to set up custom conditions to filter my data, such as filtering sales data to show only transactions above a certain amount or filtering customer data to show only those who have made a purchase in the last month.
The ability to use both types of filters in Excel’s AutoFilter function provides users with a powerful tool for organizing and analyzing their data. Whether you need to filter data based on a specific list of values or set up custom criteria, AutoFilter has you covered.