{"id":1070,"date":"2012-11-07T19:28:14","date_gmt":"2012-11-07T19:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.microsofttraining.net\/b\/exceltraining\/?p=1070"},"modified":"2023-12-30T23:11:50","modified_gmt":"2023-12-30T23:11:50","slug":"the-difference-between-autofilter-and-sort-in-excel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/the-difference-between-autofilter-and-sort-in-excel\/","title":{"rendered":"The difference between Autofilter and Sort in Excel"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is the difference between Autofilter and Sort in Excel<\/strong>? \u00a0Why use one and not the other?<\/p>\n

I found out the difference when I was trying to sort through an enormous worksheet and a colleague asked me why I wasn’t using the Autofilter. \u00a0I didn’t really want to admit that I didn’t know what it was…so I resorted to shrugging my shoulders and hoping that he would show me how it worked…which he did. \u00a0And so I share this little tip as it has saved me oodles of time.<\/p>\n

When I use Sort<\/strong> to sort data in Excel, it sorts the entire table<\/strong> – which makes sense but might not be the best way forward. \u00a0Sort<\/strong> is great for arranging a client list alphabetically for example, or sorting from lowest value to the highest value – but it may not be the best method as data can still be buried among the other rows and columns of detail.<\/p>\n

Autofilter<\/strong> gives me the option to view the bits of data I actually want<\/strong>, and filter out the ones I don’t. \u00a0So I can spot the trends, or analyse costs, or spot duplicate entries etc. \u00a0Now, I really like this. \u00a0It means I can easily find the data \u00a0I need (surrounded by white space which helps me read it all more clearly).<\/p>\n

To filter data<\/strong>, I select the field name for the data I want to filter. \u00a0Go to the Home tab on the Ribbon and select the Sort and Filter<\/strong> button, and select Filter. \u00a0Excel will prompt the next stage by asking what you want to use to filter your data, and tick the ones you want or add a new filter (such as a text filter). \u00a0Excel then filters the data for you. \u00a0Easy peasy.<\/p>\n

\"Sort-and-filter-microsoft-excel-training-courses\"<\/a>
Sort and Filter, hidden on the Home tab…but so useful<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This can be really helpful if you want to find records for a department’s expenditure (and filter out the information on other departments). \u00a0It’s really quick, so you can answer a colleague’s question on a key piece of data and then return to your normal worksheet view. \u00a0When you want to return to the view of all your records, click on the Sort and Filter button again and then choose Clear.<\/p>\n

It may appear a simple difference, but so worthwhile to know, because you can use Sort or Autofilter to meet your needs. It may not be a question on QI, but it is undeniably useful. \u00a0They are just another little set of tools that you can use in Excel for \u00a0time-saving at work. \u00a0Check out what more you can learn to boost your skills with Microsoft Excel training courses\u00a0https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/microsoft\/excel-training-london.php<\/a><\/p>\n

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What is the difference between Autofilter and Sort in Excel? \u00a0Why use one and not the other? I found out the difference when I was trying to sort through an enormous worksheet and a colleague asked me why I wasn’t using the Autofilter. \u00a0I didn’t really want to admit that I didn’t know what it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[67,360],"class_list":["post-1070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-excel-training","tag-autofilter-and-sort-in-excel","tag-microsoft-excel-training-courses"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1070"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6718,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1070\/revisions\/6718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}