How to Use Excel Filter Shortcut?

Excel's filter feature allows you to quickly sort and view specific data, helping you focus on what’s important. Using keyboard shortcuts to apply filters can save you time and make your work more efficient. The article will explain different ways to use Excel Filter shortcuts, such as filtering by text, numbers, dates, and colors. It will also provide examples of how to use these shortcuts in real-world situations.

MS Excel is a powerful spreadsheet application with many tools and features to help users manage and analyze data efficiently. The Excel Filter is a feature that can significantly enhance your data manipulation skills. Filters allow you to quickly sort and display specific subsets of data from a larger dataset, making it easier to focus on the information that matters most.

Let’s understand the filter shortcut in Excel with the help of examples. Once you apply the filter, you will see small drop-down icons in your data header.

Content

1. Turn filters on or off in Excel
2. Open Dropdown Filter Menu In Excel
3. Select Menu Items with Arrow Keys
4. Filter Dropdown Keyboard Shortcut in Excel
5. Clear Filters In The Range
6. Clear Filter on a Column
7. Show the Custom Filter Dialog

What are Excel Filter Shortcuts?

Excel Filter shortcuts are keyboard combinations that you can use to apply filters to your data quickly and easily. For example, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+L to open the Filter dialogue box, where you can select the criteria for your filter. 

While you can access filtering options through Excel’s Ribbon menu, there are handy keyboard shortcuts that can streamline your workflow and save you valuable time. In this guide, we’ll explore how to use Excel filter shortcuts to filter your data and swiftly improve your overall Excel experience. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced Excel user, mastering these shortcuts can help you work more effectively with your spreadsheets.

1. Turn Filters On or Off in Excel

In this example, we will take sales data by region department and payout.

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To apply a filter to the above data, we will follow the below steps – 

Step 1 - Select a cell in your data range that you want to navigate. Select the entire cell range if the data range contains blank columns or rows.

Step 2 - Go to the DATA tab. Click the Filter option in the Sort & Filter section. 

Once the filter is applied, the filter dropdowns will appear in the header row of your data.

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Step 3 - Now, you can sort the data as per your requirements.

Excel Filter Shortcut

2. Open the Dropdown Filter Menu In Excel

Once you enable the filter on your dataset, you can use the dropdown menus in each column header. 

Excel Filter Shortcut

Step 1—Select a cell in the header row. Each header has a drop-down icon.

Step 2 - Press the ALT + Down Arrow key on the keyboard to open the filter menu.

3. Select Menu Items with Arrow Keys

Once you enable the filter, you can use the arrow keys to navigate the filter menu.

Step 1 - Use the Enter key and the space bar to select and apply the filter. 

Excel Filter Shortcut

• Up and down arrow keys ⇒ Select a command
• Enter key ⇒ Apply the command
• Space bar key ⇒ Check and uncheck the check box

4. Filter Dropdown Keyboard Shortcut in Excel

Press ALT + Down Arrow to display the dropdown menu. You can use below keyboard shortcuts below to explore the data.

S – Sort from A to Z

O – Sort Z to A

T – Sort by color submenu

C – Transparent filter

I – Filter by colour submenu

F – Text Filters

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5. Clear Filters In The Range 

You can go to the ribbon and click on Data ⇒ Sort & Filter ⇒ Filter

• Click the Filter option to see that the boxes no longer have filter icons.

Excel Filter Shortcut

6. Clear Filter on a Column

To clear the filter on a column, follow the steps below:

• See that we have applied the filter for China. Select the header from where you want to clear the filter. 

• To clear the filter and revert to the non-filtered data, press Alt + Down Arrow so that the column's filter menu is visible. 

• Press the letter “C.” The filter will be cleared from that column. 

7. Show the Custom Filter Dialog

It is among the most helpful keyboard shortcuts when using a data filter. This can be used when you want to filter data using custom criteria. To do this, follow the steps below:

• Select a cell in the header row.
• Press the ALT + Down Arrow to display the filter menu for that column.
• Write the letter “F”.
• Write the letter “E”.

A custom dialog will appear. The comparison operator will be set to equal.  

• Select the option from the list (such as not equal, etc.) and enter the criteria.

• Select AND or OR, then press OK to apply the filter.

• You can see that you have the filtered data with 4 applied criteria – is greater than Argentina; is less than – Philippines.

Practical Tips for Using Excel Filters

• Selecting Data Range: Always select a cell within your data range before applying filters. If your data contains blank columns or rows, it’s advisable to select the entire range
• Using Excel Tables: For improved functionality, consider converting your data range into an Excel Table (using ctrl+T). This allows for more dynamic filtering and sorting capabilities
• Efficiency with Keyboard Shortcuts: Utilizing these keyboard shortcuts saves time and enhances your overall efficiency when managing large datasets in Excel.
• Copy and Paste Filtered Data: After applying filters, you can copy the visible filtered data and paste it elsewhere without including hidden rows. It comes in handy when creating reports or summaries based on filtered results.
• Utilize Conditional Formatting: Combine filters with conditional formatting to highlight important data visually.
• Reapply Filters Easily: If your data changes, you can quickly reapply the last filter you used by clicking the filter button again. It is helpful when working with dynamic datasets.

I hope this article helped you understand how to apply keyboard filter shortcuts. If you want to learn more formulas and functions in Excel, we recommend the following articles –

• How to Multiply in Excel?
• COUNTIF in Excel
• MODULUS Function in Excel
• CONCATENATE in Excel 
• Tutorial – XLOOKUP in Excel 
• How To Calculate Percentage In Excel
• TRANSPOSE in Excel