Tech Tip Tuesday - Excel - Slice It Up

Often when I look at an Excel file, it just has way too much information. Rows upon rows of data. How do I make heads or tails of it? Lately, I have been using tables and slicers to assist in the sorting and filtering of my data. The great thing about tables and slicers is that I can quickly get down to the granularity level that I need. I also don't need to create as many tabs as I can filter the data. Please follow the steps below to create your first table and slicer.

​As always, reach out if you have any questions.

Always Advancing,
​Ralph

Setup a table

• Select the data to convert to table

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• Click the "Format as Table" Button and select a table style

• If your table has headers, check the "My table has headers" box and click "OK". Otherwise, click "OK"

• The data will now be within a table

Filter and sort within the table

Use the arrows in the headers to sort and filter the table data.

• Description of each filter option
  • Sort A to Z - Sorts alphabetically and numerically
  • Sort Z to A - Sorts reverse alphabetically and numerically
  • Sort by Color - Sorts based on the fill color of the cell
  • Clear Filter - Resets filters
  • Filter by Color - refines list based on fill color
  • Text Filters - refines based on the text content of the cell
  • Search - Finds and filters based on search term
• Note: At the bottom of the filter dropdown the unique values within the column will appear to further refine the table contents.
  • Select all: turns on/off all filter options
  • Click the box next to the option to turn on and off that option

Setup a slicer

• Click anywhere on the table and select the design tab under table tools

• Click the "Insert Slicer" icon

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• The "Insert Slicers" window will appear. Within the window select the column(s) on which to filter and click "OK"

• A slicer(s) will appear. Click on the button based on the data to be filter by.

• Select multiple items by holding in the Ctrl key while clicking.
• Clear the filter by click on the "X" at the top of the slicer.