FILTER function in Google Sheets - Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

The FILTER function helps you pick out only the rows or columns that meet certain rules from a bigger list. It saves time by showing just the data you want without changing the original list.

When you want to see only sales records from a specific city in a big sales list.

When you need to list all employees who joined after a certain date from a staff database.

When you want to extract all products with prices above a set amount from your inventory.

When you want to create a smaller list of students who scored above 80 in a test.

When you want to show only the orders that are marked as 'Delivered' from your orders sheet.

Steps

Step 1: Click

- a blank cell where you want the filtered results to appear

The cell is selected and ready for input

Step 2: Type

- the selected cell

The formula input starts

💡 Start typing =FILTER to see the function suggestion

Step 3: Enter

- the formula bar

The FILTER formula syntax appears: =FILTER(range, condition1, [condition2, ...])

Step 4: Replace

- range in the formula

The range of cells you want to filter is set

💡 For example, A2:C20 to filter rows from columns A to C

Step 5: Replace

- condition(s) in the formula

The rule(s) to filter by are set

💡 For example, B2:B20="New York" to filter rows where column B is New York

Step 6: Press

- Enter key

The filtered list appears starting from the selected cell

Before vs After

Before

A list of 20 sales records with columns for Date, City, and Amount

After

Only the rows where City is 'New York' appear, showing Date, City, and Amount for those rows

Settings Reference

range

📍 inside the FILTER formula

Defines the data area to filter

Default: none

condition

📍 inside the FILTER formula after the range

Sets the rule(s) that rows must meet to be included

Default: none

Common Mistakes

Using a condition range that does not match the size of the data range

FILTER requires the condition range to be the same size as the data range to work properly

Make sure the condition range covers the same number of rows as the data range

Not enclosing text conditions in quotes

Text values must be inside double quotes to be recognized correctly

Write conditions like B2:B20="New York" with quotes around text

Forgetting to press Enter after typing the formula

The formula won't run until you press Enter

Always press Enter to apply the FILTER formula and see results

Summary

FILTER lets you show only rows that meet your rules from a bigger list.

You write =FILTER(range, condition) to use it.

Make sure your condition range matches your data range size exactly.