WHERE clause for filtering in Google Sheets - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - WHERE clause for filtering

Goal

Find sales records only for the East region to see how that area is performing.

Sample Data

Order ID	Region	Sales	Month
1001	East	200	Jan
1002	West	150	Jan
1003	East	300	Feb
1004	South	400	Feb
1005	East	250	Mar
1006	West	100	Mar

Dashboard Components

• Filtered Sales Table: Shows only rows where Region is East.
  Formula:
  =FILTER(A2:D7, B2:B7 = "East")
  Output:
  Order ID | Region | Sales | Month
  1001 | East | 200 | Jan
  1003 | East | 300 | Feb
  1005 | East | 250 | Mar
• Total Sales for East: Sum of sales from filtered data.
  Formula:
  =SUM(FILTER(C2:C7, B2:B7 = "East"))
  Output: 750
• Average Sales for East: Average sales from filtered data.
  Formula:
  =AVERAGE(FILTER(C2:C7, B2:B7 = "East"))
  Output: 250

Dashboard Layout

+-------------------------+------------------+
| Filtered Sales Table     | Total Sales (KPI) |
| (Filtered by East)      | Value: 750       |
+-------------------------+------------------+
| Average Sales (KPI)     |                  |
| Value: 250              |                  |
+-------------------------+------------------+

Interactivity

If you change the region in the filter formula (for example, from "East" to "West"), all components update automatically:

• The filtered table shows only sales from the selected region.
• Total sales and average sales KPIs recalculate for that region.

Self Check

Change the filter in the formula to "West". Which rows appear in the filtered table? What is the new total sales value?

Answer: Rows with Order ID 1002 and 1006 appear. Total sales is 150 + 100 = 250.

Key Result

Dashboard filters sales data by region using FILTER formula to show only East region sales and calculates total and average sales for East.

Practice

1. What does the WHERE clause do in a Google Sheets QUERY function?

easy

A. It sorts the data alphabetically.

B. It filters rows based on a condition.

C. It adds new columns to the data.

D. It changes the data format.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of WHERE clause

   The WHERE clause is used to select only rows that meet a specific condition.

2. Step 2: Compare options with WHERE clause function

   Sorting, adding columns, or changing format are not done by WHERE; filtering rows is correct.

3. Final Answer:

   It filters rows based on a condition. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   WHERE clause = filters rows [OK]

Hint: WHERE filters rows by condition inside QUERY [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing WHERE with sorting or formatting
• Thinking WHERE adds columns
• Assuming WHERE changes data types

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to filter rows where column A equals 100 in a QUERY function?

easy

A. SELECT * WHERE A = 100

B. SELECT * WHERE A == 100

C. SELECT * WHERE A equals 100

D. SELECT * WHERE A := 100

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall QUERY syntax for equality

   In QUERY, single equals sign (=) is used to compare values.

2. Step 2: Check each option's syntax

   A uses word 'equals', invalid; B uses '==', invalid; C uses '=', correct; D uses ':=', invalid in QUERY.

3. Final Answer:

   SELECT * WHERE A = 100 -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Use '=' for equality in WHERE [OK]

Hint: Use single '=' for equality in QUERY WHERE [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using '==' instead of '='
• Writing 'equals' as word
• Using ':=' or other operators

3. Given this QUERY: =QUERY(A1:C5, "SELECT A, B WHERE C > 50") and data:
A=Name, B=Score, C=Age
Rows:
1: John, 80, 45
2: Mary, 90, 55
3: Alex, 70, 60
4: Lisa, 85, 40
What rows will the query return?

medium

A. Mary and Alex

B. No rows

C. All rows

D. John and Lisa

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the WHERE condition

   The query filters rows where column C (Age) is greater than 50.

2. Step 2: Check each row's Age value

   John (45) and Lisa (40) are not >50; Mary (55) and Alex (60) are >50, so only Mary and Alex are included.

3. Final Answer:

   Mary and Alex -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Filter C > 50 returns Mary, Alex [OK]

Hint: Check numeric condition on column values carefully [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Including rows with C ≤ 50
• Confusing column letters
• Assuming all rows return

4. What is wrong with this QUERY formula? =QUERY(A1:B10, "SELECT A, B WHERE B > 20 AND")

medium

A. SELECT must include C column

B. Incorrect column letters

C. WHERE clause cannot use AND

D. Missing condition after AND

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the WHERE clause syntax

   The WHERE clause ends with 'AND' but no condition follows, which is invalid syntax.

2. Step 2: Check other options

   Column letters A and B are valid; AND is allowed but must be followed by a condition; SELECT does not require column C.

3. Final Answer:

   Missing condition after AND -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   AND must have conditions on both sides [OK]

Hint: Ensure AND has conditions on both sides [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Leaving AND at end without condition
• Misnaming columns
• Thinking AND is not allowed

5. You want to filter rows where column B contains the text 'apple' (case insensitive) using QUERY. Which WHERE clause is correct?

hard

A. WHERE lower(B) = 'apple'

B. WHERE B contains 'apple'

C. WHERE lower(B) contains 'apple'

D. WHERE B = 'apple'

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand case-insensitive text filtering

   To ignore case, convert text to lowercase using lower(), then check if it contains 'apple'.

2. Step 2: Evaluate each option

   A uses equality after lower() for exact match only; C uses contains without lower(), case-sensitive; D is case-sensitive exact equality; B uses lower() with contains correctly for case-insensitive partial match.

3. Final Answer:

   WHERE lower(B) contains 'apple' -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Use lower() with contains for case-insensitive filter [OK]

Hint: Use lower() with contains for case-insensitive text filter [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using = instead of contains for partial match
• Ignoring case sensitivity
• Using contains without lower()