Search filter

The filter function is not new in Excel 2010, but what is new is the search filter. This search filter is not only used in tables but also in Pivot Tables and Pivot Charts.

As an example, I have a table where a filter is added. If you do not know how to do that, select a cell in the table, click the “Sort & Filter” button in the ribbon (1), and select “Filter” in the drop-down menu.

When you click the downward pointing arrow next to a column title (2), you will see the old filter capabilities and the new search filter (3). As soon as you start typing into the search box (3), Excel will show the results (4). Click the OK button when you are satisfied.

This is a big improvement.

Slicers

New in Excel 2010 are the “Slicers” that we can add to a PivotTable. With “Slicers”, we can apply filters on our PivotTable in a relatively simple way.

First, you need a PivotTable. Next, you select the “Insert” tab (1) and click the “Slicer” (2) in the ribbon. In the dialog that appears (3), choose the fields that you want to add as a slicer and click the OK button.

This places the Slicers (4) in the PivotTable.

To filter out certain data from the table, you only need to click the Slicer fields.

If these fields lie below each other in the slicer, you can click and drag on the various fields.

If the fields you want to filter do not lie below each other, hold the Shift key on your keyboard while you click on the fields.

To undo filtering, click the filter icon to the top left of the slicer (5).

For those who work with PivotTables, this is definitely an improvement. It’s much quicker to select fields in a slicer, than clicking the downward pointing arrow icon next to a field in the PivotTable.

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