HOW TO: Use Advanced Filter to Exclude Records in Excel 2000

This step-by-step article explains how to use the ISNA and MATCH worksheet functions to exclude records in a Microsoft Excel database that do not match another list.

How to Create Exclusion Criteria

To create exclusion criteria, use the following formula where firstcell is the first cell in the field of your database that you want to filter and excludelist is the list of entries that you want to exclude.

When you filter records in an Excel database, you usually specify criteria that you want the records to match. However, when you use the ISNA and MATCH worksheet functions, you can create an advanced criteria that filters all records that do not match the criteria.

Example

To use this example, follow these steps:

1. Type the following values in a new worksheet:

      A1: Region  E1:         F1: Criteria
      A2: 1       E2: 1       F2: =ISNA(MATCH(A2,$E$2:$E$3,0))
      A3: 2       E3: 3       F3:
      A4: 3       E4:         F4:
      A5: 4       E5:         F5:
      A6: 1       E6:         F6:
   					

2. Click cell A1 (or any cell on the list).
3. On the Data menu, point to Filter, and then click Advanced Filter.
4. In the Advanced Filter dialog box, click Filter the list, in place.
5. In the List Range box, type A1:A6.
6. In the Criteria range box, type F1:F2.
7. Click OK.

NOTE: When you create an advanced criterion formula that excludes records, the cell reference to the list of entries that you want to exclude must be an absolute reference.

When you specify an advanced criterion formula, the cell above the formula cannot contain an actual field name; it must either be blank or contain a different text string.

For more information about advanced filters, click Microsoft Excel Help on the Help menu, type filter a list by using advanced criteria in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.