Filter data

You can create filtering rules that determine which rows in a table are visible.

For example, if you’re looking at a table of possible monthly mortgage payments for a loan with various interest rates, you can filter the table to show only the amounts you can afford.

Table before filtering with 7 rows, table after filtering with 3 rows

Create a filtering rule for rows

  1. Click the table, then click Sort & Filter in the toolbar.

  2. Click Filter, click Add a Filter, then choose which column to filter by.

  3. Click the type of filter you want (Text, for example), then click a rule.

  4. Enter values for your rule. For example, if you select “is not,” type text such as “due by.”

    Controls for creating filtering rules
  5. To add another rule for the same column, click Or.

    You can have multiple rules for a column, such as “Show rows that have ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’ in Column C.”

  6. To add a filter for another column, click Add a Filter.

    If a table has multiple filtering rules, you can choose whether to show rows that match all filters or any filter in the pop-up menu at the top.

    Pop-up menu to choose between showing rows that match all filters or any filers

Note: You can’t add new rows to the table until you stop filtering. To stop filtering, deselect the Filters checkbox in the Filter inspector.

Filter rows

You can quickly filter a table based on one of the values in a column.

  1. Select a column, then click the down arrow on its border.

  2. Choose Filter Table, then choose the value you want to filter by, such as “Female.”

    All rows without the “Female” value in the selected column aren’t shown.

    Click the value again if you want to remove the filter.

  3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to filter based on another value.

You can view filtering rules by choosing Edit Table Filters in the Filter Table menu.

Turn off filters or delete a filter

You can turn off all filters for a table without deleting them. You can turn them back on later if necessary. If you don’t need a filter, you can delete it.