Excel: Sorting and Filtering
Data
Judy Barnes Dooley
MOUG March 26, 2003 By Judy Barnes Dooley
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To Sort or To Filter?
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Excel data as a database
Sorting = alphabetizing
Filtering = narrowing the window
based on criteria
MOUG March 26, 2003 By Judy Barnes Dooley
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Agenda
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Sorting
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On a single column
On multiple columns
Prioritizing your sorts
Filtering
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AutoFilter
AutoFilter with ‘fluid’ chart
Removing filters
MOUG March 26, 2003 By Judy Barnes Dooley
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Sorting
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Select a single cell in the column you
want to sort by
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If you select a whole column, only that
column will be sorted, disconnecting it
from the other data in the database
Sort on multiple columns
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Sort the least important column first,
progressing to the most important
Sort the most important column last
MOUG March 26, 2003 By Judy Barnes Dooley
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Prioritizing Sorts
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For Example
Desired end result is to see data
broken down by division, by
department, and in order of hire date,
hourly rate, and gross pay
MOUG March 26, 2003 By Judy Barnes Dooley
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Example
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This example was sorted
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First, by GROSS PAY
Then by HOURLY RATE
Then by HRS
Then by DATE of HIRE
Then by DEPT
Then finally, by DIVISION
MOUG March 26, 2003 By Judy Barnes Dooley
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Filtering
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Filtering with AutoFilter
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Click any cell within the database
Select Data, Filter, AutoFilter
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Filter arrows appear in each cell in the header
row
Click on any filter arrow and choose how to
narrow the database
Click on other filter arrows to further narrow the
database
A blue arrow indicates that a filter is active
MOUG March 26, 2003 By Judy Barnes Dooley
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‘Fluid’ Chart with AutoFilter
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Create a quick chart
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Select data for chart
Chart Wizard
Select ‘Custom Types’ tab
Select ‘Line-Column on 2 Axes’
Place the chart below, but on the same
page as the data
MOUG March 26, 2003 By Judy Barnes Dooley
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‘Fluid’ Chart with AutoFilter
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The chart is
selected
Pink, Green, and
Blue outlines show
the sources of the
chart data
Blue Filter arrows
indicate where
filters have been
applied.
MOUG March 26, 2003 By Judy Barnes Dooley
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Removing Filters
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Simply click to toggle filters off:
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Data, Filters, AutoFilter
MOUG March 26, 2003 By Judy Barnes Dooley
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Excel Tips
Double-click right-most edge
of a column head
Resize the column to fit the widest entry
Ctrl-Home
To cell A1 of the current worksheet
Ctrl ~ (toggle)
Reveals all the formulas on a worksheet
Ctrl-Enter
Enters your keystrokes and keeps the current cell active
Ctrl-Shift-*
Selects all contiguous cells
Ctrl-Arrow
Move to the last record in the direction of the arrow
Ctrl-A
Brings up the text formatting dialog box
F4 key (4-way toggle)
Absolute Values. Toggles in this order:
$C$10→C$10→$C10→C10
MOUG March 26, 2003 By Judy Barnes Dooley
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