Have you ever found yourself buried under a mountain of data in Google Sheets, desperately trying to make sense of it all? You’re not alone.
Whether you’re managing a budget, tracking project deadlines, or analyzing sales figures, organizing your data by date can be a game-changer.
That’s where the magic of ‘filter by date in Google Sheets‘ comes into play, and in this beginner-friendly guide, we’ll take you through the steps to harness this powerful feature.
Scenario/Use Case
Let’s paint a picture that might sound familiar. Imagine you’re a small business owner, and you’ve been diligently recording your daily sales in a Google Sheets spreadsheet.
As the weeks and months roll by, your spreadsheet grows, and you start to wonder, “How do I extract insights from this sea of numbers?” This is where the ability to filter by date in Google Sheets becomes your secret weapon.
You want to know which products sold the most during a specific month, how your sales have evolved over time, or maybe you simply need to generate a report for your investors covering last quarter’s performance. Without a doubt, filtering your data by date is the key to unlocking these answers swiftly and efficiently.
Let’s dive right in and discover how to filter by date in Google Sheets, step by step. In this guide, we intend to make your data work for you, transforming it from a chaotic puzzle into a clear and insightful picture of your business’s performance.
Filter By Date In Google Sheets: A Step-By-Step Guide
If you haven’t filtered by date in Google Sheets, the whole concept might sound strange.
But having provided you with some background on what it entails to filter by date in Google Sheets along with a relatable scenario that conveys the message better, we want to use this section to show you the step-by-step process of filtering by date in Google Sheets.
So you get the hang of how this works, we will use the following sample data to show you how to filter by date in Google Sheets.
Now that we have our sample data ready, it’s time to learn how to use the date-filtering feature in Google Sheets. Don’t worry if you’re new to spreadsheets or a seasoned pro; by following the steps we’ll explain in this section, you’ll be able to filter by date in Google Sheets.
So, let’s get started without delay.
Step 1: Highlight Your Data
The first thing we want to do is highlight the data we want to filter by date. Since we are only interested in filtering by date, we will go ahead and highlight the data in the date column.
Step 2: Access the “Data” Menu And Choose Create New Filter View
Having highlighted the data we intend to filter by date in Google Sheets, we need to navigate to the menu bar and click on the option for Data.
From the options available, hover your mouse over “Filter views,” then select “Create new filter view” from the dropdown menu.
In case you’re confused, the screenshot below should provide some clarifications:
After applying our selected option, our spreadsheet should look somewhat different. Here is what ours looks like:
If you look at the image above, you can see that the filter icon has now been added to the column for Dates. That’s exactly what we wanted.
Step3: Filter Dates
Having finally added the filter icon to the Date column, let’s quickly filter by date. To do that, we will need to click on the filter icon next to the Date column. From the options available, select the option for Filter by condition.
Step 4: Tweak the Option For Filter By Condition
After selecting the option for Filter by condition, click on the dropdown button next to None. Scroll all the way down and select the option for “Is Between.”
Step 5: Enter The Date Range
When you choose the “Is between” filter option, you’ll notice two boxes where you can set the dates you want to use for filtering. In our example, we want to filter data from January 3, 2023, to February 2, 2023. Once you’ve filled in these dates, click the “OK” button, and you’re all set.
If you followed the steps exactly as we showed you, you should see that your spreadsheet has now been updated to reflect your filtered option. Here is what ours looks like.
Take a close look at the picture above, and you’ll notice that our spreadsheet is now showing only the dates we selected. That’s how you filter by date in Google Sheets. It wasn’t too tricky, was it?
Alternative way to filter by date in Google Sheets
If you’d rather not use the Filter by condition method we mentioned earlier, you can choose the easier “Filter by values” option. This means you simply select the dates you want to filter in your data.
Follow along as we show you how to filter by date using the “Filter by values” option.
To begin, click on the filter icon next to the Date column. Usually, all the date options are initially selected, so scroll down the list and only choose the dates you want to include in your filter. By default, all the dates are checked, so go through the list and uncheck the ones you don’t want to filter.
The video below provides better clarification on how to approach this:
Once you’ve made these changes, you’ll notice that your spreadsheet now shows only the dates you picked. Check out how our spreadsheet looks now:
As you can see in the pictures above, we’ve organized our spreadsheet to display only the dates we chose. This is another straightforward method for filtering by date in Google Sheets.
Final Thoughts
In today’s guide, we have explored the world of date filtering in Google Sheets together, and we are sure you loved every bit of the process.
Without mincing words, filtering your data by date doesn’t have to be intimidating. You should see it as a powerful tool that can help you make sense of your spreadsheets.
To make the entire concept easy to grasp, we explored the basics, such as how to set up your filter and select specific date ranges. We also highlighted the flexibility of Google Sheets in accommodating different filtering conditions, making it a versatile tool for various tasks.
Remember, the ability to filter by date in Google Sheets is like having a magic wand that can turn a chaotic sea of numbers into a clear and insightful picture of your data. Whether you’re a small business owner, a project manager, or just someone trying to keep track of personal finances, mastering this skill can save you time and unlock valuable insights.