When you apply a filter to a column, the only filters available for other columns are the values visible in the currently filtered range.

You can also filter by more than one column. Filters are additive, which means that each additional filter is based on the current filter and further reduces the subset of data.

You can either apply a general Filter option or a custom filter specific to the data type. For example, when filtering numbers, you’ll see Number Filters, for dates you'll see Date Filters, and for text you'll see Text Filters. The general filter option lets you select the data you want to see from a list of existing data like this:

You can quickly filter data based on visual criteria, such as font color, cell color, or icon sets. And you can filter whether you have formatted cells, applied cell styles, or used conditional formatting.

Using AutoFilter, you can create two types of filters: by a list value or by criteria. Each of these filter types is mutually exclusive for each range of cells or column table. For example, you can filter by a list of numbers, or a criteria, but not by both; you can filter by icon or by a custom filter, but not by both.

Note: When you use Find to search filtered data, only the data that is displayed is searched; data that is not displayed is not searched. To search all the data, clear all filters.

Filters are additive. This means that each additional filter is based on the current filter and further reduces the subset of data. You can make complex filters by filtering on more than one value, more than one format, or more than one criteria. For example, you can filter on all numbers greater than 5 that are also below average. But some filters (top and bottom ten, above and below average) are based on the original range of cells. For example, when you filter the top ten values, you'll see the top ten values of the whole list, not the top ten values of the subset of the last filter.

When you apply a filter to a column, the only filters available for other columns are the values visible in the currently filtered range.

For best results, do not mix data types, such as text and number, or number and date in the same column, because only one type of filter command is available for each column. If there is a mix of data types, the command that is displayed is the data type that occurs the most. For example, if the column contains three values stored as number and four as text, the Text Filters command is displayed .

Note: When you use the Find dialog box to search filtered data, only the data that is displayed is searched; data that is not displayed is not searched. To search all the data, clear all filters.

When you apply a filter to a column, the only filters available for other columns are the values visible in the currently filtered range.

Use AutoFilter or built-in comparison operators like "greater than" and “top 10” in Excel to show the data you want and hide the rest. Once you filter data in a range of cells or table, you can either reapply a filter to get up-to-date results, or clear a filter to redisplay all of the data.

Filters hide extraneous data. In this manner, you can concentrate on just what you want to see. In contrast, when you sort data, the data is rearranged into some order. For more information about sorting, see Sort a list of data.

Instead of filtering, you can use conditional formatting to make the top or bottom numbers stand out clearly in your data.

In a range of cells or a table column, click a cell that contains the cell color, font color, or icon that you want to filter by.

Filtered data displays only the rows that meet criteria that you specify and hides rows that you do not want displayed. After you filter data, you can copy, find, edit, format, chart, and print the subset of filtered data without rearranging or moving it.

When you hover over the heading of a filtered column, a screen tip displays the filter applied to that column, such as "Equals a red cell color" or "Larger than 150".

When you filter data, only the data that meets your criteria appears. The data that doesn't meet that criteria is hidden. After you filter data, you can copy, find, edit, format, chart, and print the subset of filtered data.

When you hover over the heading of a column with filtering enabled but not applied, a screen tip displays "(Showing All)".

Select My table has headers to turn the top row of your data into table headers. The data in this row won't be filtered.

In Excel, you can create three kinds of filters: by values, by a format, or by criteria. But each of these filter types is mutually exclusive. For example, you can filter by cell color or by a list of numbers, but not by both. You can filter by icon or by a custom filter, but not by both.

Don't select the check box if you want Excel for the web to add placeholder headers (that you can rename) above your table data.

You can filter by more than one column. When you apply a filter to a column, the only filters available for other columns are the values visible in the currently filtered range.