How to filter with custom formula in google sheets

In the world of data-driven decision-making, Google Sheets emerges as a versatile and user-friendly tool. From simple calculations to intricate analyses, it caters to beginners and professionals alike. One of its hidden gems is the ability to filter data using custom formulas.

If you want to take your data manipulation skills up a notch, mastering the art of employing custom formulas in Google Sheets can be a game-changer.

In this comprehensive Google Sheets tutorial, we’ll guide you through harnessing the power of custom formulas to streamline your data filtering tasks to gain sharper insights.

But before we go over the step-by-step process of filtering data using custom formula in Google Sheets, let’s quickly see a scenario that might require you to leverage custom formula in Google Sheets to filter data.

Scenario/Use Case

Imagine you’re managing a small online retail business, and you’ve just received a hefty sheet containing sales data for the past year. The list includes items, quantities sold, prices, and profits. As you scroll through the rows, you realize you need to identify products that have generated more than $1000 in profit while selling fewer than 50 units. Manually scanning through this extensive dataset seems daunting and error-prone.

This is where the magic of custom formula in Google Sheets enters the scene. Instead of scrolling tirelessly and making calculations by hand, you can create a personalized formula that automates the process.

With just a few clicks, you can filter out the products that meet your criteria. This saves you valuable time and ensures accuracy, enabling you to make informed decisions swiftly.

Why Use Custom Formula In Google Sheets for Data Filtering?

Before we embark on the journey of learning how to wield custom formulas for data filtering in Google Sheets, let’s take a moment to explore the why behind this intriguing technique.

If you’re new to the world of spreadsheets, fret not – we’re here to break it down for you in the simplest terms.

Custom formulas might sound a bit fancy, but they’re essentially your secret weapon for sifting through data with precision and ease.

Let’s dive in to discover the reasons why custom formulas are your ticket to a more organized and insightful spreadsheet experience.

Tailored Precision: Consider custom formulas as your personal data detectives. They allow you to define specific rules that match your exact filtering needs. Want to find products with profits over $1000 and sold units fewer than 50? A custom formula can do that effortlessly. No more manual sorting or guesswork – just pinpoint accuracy.
Effortless Efficiency: Scrolling through rows upon rows of data can be tedious and time-consuming. But guess what? Custom formulas sweep away this drudgery by automating the process. With a formula in place, your data rearranges instantly, giving you the desired results in the blink of an eye.
Consistent Results: When you filter data manually, there’s room for human error. Custom formulas eliminate this uncertainty. Once you’ve set up your formula, it consistently applies the same logic every time you need to filter. This means reliable outcomes, time after time.
Advanced Insights: Custom formulas aren’t just about simple filters; they can perform intricate calculations, too. Imagine wanting to find the average profit for products in a certain category. A custom formula can compute that for you, giving you insights beyond basic filtering.
Empowerment and Learning: Learning to use custom formulas might seem like a small step, but it’s a leap toward mastering Google Sheets. As you experiment and create formulas, you’ll build your skills and confidence, enabling you to handle increasingly complex data tasks.

Filtering Data Using Custom Formula In Google Sheets – Practical Example

Now that we’ve laid the groundwork, let’s dive straight into the hands-on part of our guide – learning how to practically use custom formula in Google Sheets to filter your data.

This section will walk you through each step, ensuring you get a firsthand grasp of filtering data with custom formula in Google Sheets.

To showcase how straightforward it is to filter data using custom formulas in Google Sheets, we’ll work with a simple example using the following sample data:

Now that we put together our sample data, let’s get down to the practical aspect of today’s guide.

Step 1: Select Your Data

First, let’s start by picking the data we want to work with for filtering using custom formulas in Google Sheets. For this example, we’ll select all the data in our spreadsheet to keep things simple.

Step 2: Access The Filter Function

With our data now highlighted, let’s head to the Data menu. From the options available, choose Create a Filter.

After selecting the option for Create a filter, Google Sheets will automatically add the filter icon to your spreadsheet, here is what ours looks like.

Step 3: Enter the Custom Formula

To apply our custom formula, follow these simple steps. First, locate the filter icon next to the “Profit” column. Once found, click on it. Among the choices presented, opt for “Filter by condition.”

A box will appear just below that choice with the word “None.” Click on it, then scroll down to locate and select “Custom formula is.” This selection will open a small box where you can input your custom formula.

Now, it’s time to input the formula. So go ahead and add the following formula and click OK.

=AND(B2 > 1000, C2 < 50)

After clicking OK, your data should be filtered based on your imputed formula. Here is what our spreadsheet looks like after applying our custom formula.

The screenshot above shows that our sample data has been filtered to show only the products that meet our set conditions: sales above $1000 and less than 50 units sold.

With this, you’ve gained a solid understanding of how to filter your data using a custom formula in Google Sheets.

Final Thoughts

Filtering data with a custom formula in Google Sheets might feel a bit daunting, especially if you’re new to Sheets. However, in this guide, we’ve broken down the process into simple steps, making it easy to grasp even for beginners.

Our guide comes complete with a special scenario demonstrating when custom formulas in Google Sheets can be handy. And to make things even clearer, we’ve included screenshots to visually walk you through the process.

We sincerely hope that this guide has been helpful to you.