Filter and sort data effectively in Google Sheets

Welcome to your Google Sheets tutorial where you will learn how to effectively filter and sort your data. Google Sheets is a powerful tool for data processing, and with the right techniques, you can significantly improve your data analysis. In this guide, we will show you step by step how to format, filter, and sort data in Google Sheets to get the information you need.

Key Takeaways

• With Google Sheets, you can efficiently sort and filter large amounts of data.
• Sorting allows for a structured overview of your data based on various criteria.
• Filters enable you to create specific data views and quickly find relevant information.

Step-by-Step Guide

Data Formatting Before Sorting

Before you start filtering and sorting your data, it is important to ensure that the data is correctly formatted. This applies particularly to numbers and currencies. Here's what you need to do:

First, select the column you want to format. For example, if you want to display the population in millions, select the column with the population numbers. Click on the desired column and go to "Format" in the menu bar > "Number." Here, you can choose the formatting options that best suit your data.

Sorting Data from A to Z

Once the data is formatted, you can start sorting. Select the relevant columns. If you have all the relevant data in columns B to D, go to the "Data" tab in the menu bar. Choose the option "Sort by column B, A to Z." This will alphabetically sort your data list by cities.

Undoing and Selecting the Header

If you accidentally sorted the header as well, you can undo the action by simply using Google Sheets' undo function (Ctrl + Z). To ensure that the header is not included, select only the data range without the header. You can do this by pressing Ctrl and Shift, then using the arrow keys to choose the desired range.

Sorting Population Numbers

To sort the data by population numbers, click on "Data" again and select the option "Create a filter." Once the filter is active, you will see a small arrow in the header that you can click on. Choose "Sort from A to Z" or "Sort from Z to A" based on your requirements.

Sorting Revenue

Similarly, you can also sort revenue data. Click again on the filter icon in the revenue column header and choose the sorting option to sort the values. Make sure the filtered view helps you quickly identify both large and small revenues.

Filtering Specific Data

Another important aspect of the workflow is targeted filtering. By clicking on the filter icon, you can now select or deselect specific population or revenue numbers. This allows you to have a selective view of your data. If you no longer want to see certain revenue numbers, simply deselect the corresponding number and confirm.

Checking the Filters

Always check if a filter is active. You will see the filter icon in the header, indicating whether any restrictions are in place. If you want to display all the data again, you can use the filter icon to reset the filters and select everything again.

Creating a New Filter View

In addition to the regular filters in Google Sheets, you can also create new filter views. To do this, select the entire data range again (Ctrl + A) and go to the "Data" tab. There, select "Filter Views" and you can add a new filter view to sort or filter the data according to your preferences.

Summary

In this guide, you have learned how to format data in Google Sheets, sort it according to different criteria, and filter it selectively. These skills are essential for quickly and efficiently extracting the necessary information from large amounts of data.