Sorting and Filtering the List

You can use any of the filtering buttons that Excel automatically adds to column headings (or field names) in the top to sort or filter the data in the list just as you use them with a regular data list.

If you want to sort the list on the entries in a particular column (field), select either Sort Ascending or Sort Descending from its drop-down menu. Select Sort Ascending to sort text alphabetically from A to Z, numbers from smallest to largest, and dates from least recent to most recent. Select Sort Descending when you want to sort text alphabetically from Z to A, numbers from largest to smallest, and dates from most recent to least recent.

To filter the rows of data in the list so that the list contains records only for a certain entry (such as the Accounting department or the Boston location), select that entry in the particular field's drop-down list. If you need to do more sophisticated filtering of the list, you can use the column's Top 10 or Custom options to do so. To remove the filtering and redisplay all the records in the list, choose Data → Filter → Show All.

If you want to remove the filtering buttons from your Excel 2003 list, you can do so by once again choosing Data → Filter → AutoFilter. (This command sequence toggles the filtering buttons on and off.)