Create a filter to show or hide data

Filters are a great way to show the data you want from a sheet.

Who can use this?

Plans:

  • Pro
  • Business
  • Enterprise

Permissions:

  • Owner
  • Admin
  • Editor

Find out if this capability is included in Smartsheet Regions or Smartsheet Gov.

Filters show or hide rows based on conditions you define against column data. You can filter on a single condition or combine multiple conditions.

Conditions you can apply to a column:

  • Matches a specific value or a value in a list
  • Matches none of the values in a list
  • Greater than, less than, or equal to a value
  • Blank or empty
  • Not a number
  • Not a date

When you set multiple conditions, choose whether to show rows matching all conditions or at least one condition.

With the right permissions, you can create filters for yourself or share them with other collaborators. Sharing filters requires a Business or Enterprise plan. For plan details, see Pricing.

Required permissions

Your sharing permissions on a sheet determine what you can do with filters.

Filter Activity

Viewer

Editor

Owner or Admin

Use an existing filter

Yes

Yes

Yes

Create an unnamed filter

Yes

Yes

Yes

Create a filter and name it

No

Yes

Yes

Share a filter with all sheet collaborators (Only available on Business and Enterprise plans)

No

No

Yes

An unnamed filter is personal to you. Other collaborators can't see or use it.


Create a filter in Grid view

To create a filter in a table, board, or timeline view, see Filter your data in table, board, and timeline view

  1. On the toolbar, select Filter > New Filter. The filter editor appears. 

    Brandfolder Image
    Create New Filter form
  2. Name your filter or leave it unnamed:

    • Named filter: Type a name in the Name field. Requires Editor permissions or higher.
    • Unnamed filter: Leave the Name field blank.
  3. Under Show rows that match, set one or more conditions for filtering the data you want.

    The column's data type determines which operators are available. For example, contains works only with text strings and contacts; is between works only with dates and numbers.

  4. Select the toggle next to Show rows that match to switch between all conditions and at least one condition.
  5. To share the filter with collaborators, select the Share filter checkbox. Requires Admin permissions or higher on the sheet.
  6. If your sheet uses hierarchy, select Include parent rows to keep parent rows visible in the filtered results.
  7. Select Apply.

Rows matching your filter appear; all other rows hide.

In the Filter menu, your filter appears by name, or as Unnamed Filter if you left the name blank. Shared filters show a share  Share with other users.  icon next to the filter name.


Modify a filter

You can always go back and change the conditions of an existing filter:

  1. In the Filter menu, hover over the filter name and select the Edit   Edit user button in Admin Center  icon. The form title shows the filter's name. Confirm it's the right filter before making changes.
  2. In the Edit Filter form, update the conditions as desired.
  3. Select Apply.

The updated conditions apply to the sheet.

If you don't have Editor permissions or higher, you can only modify unnamed filters.

Turn off a filter

Select the filter name in the top bar. The label changes to Filter Off.

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how to turn off a filter in grid view

Delete a filter

Here is how to remove a filter from the sheet:

  1. In the Filter menu, hover over the filter name and select the Delete   icon.
  2. Select Delete.

Tips for working with conditions

As you specify conditions for your filters, you might get a sense of how to set up the criteria you find most useful. Here are a few ideas to get you started

Find missing data

Use the is blank condition to surface rows where data hasn't been filled in.

Switch between AND and OR logic

Select the toggle next to Show rows that match to switch between all conditions (AND) and at least one condition (OR).

Keep parent rows visible

If your sheet uses hierarchy, select Include parent rows to keep parent rows visible even when they don't match the filter conditions.

Focus collaborators on their tasks

Create a Current User filter to show each collaborator only the rows assigned to them. For details, see View your assigned tasks.

Filter on row-level properties

Use the Row filter criteria to narrow results by critical path status, attachments, comments, and locked status. See Filter on critical path, attachments, comments, and locked rows below.

Filter on pure numeric values

Filters don't match pure numeric values directly. To work around this, create a new column and enter this formula:

=[NumberColumn]1 + ""

Replace [NumberColumn] with your column name. The 1 is the row number. Copy the formula down the column, then filter on the new text column instead.


Filter on critical path data, attachments, comments, and locked rows

Select Row in the first dropdown to access these filter options.

Isolate critical path data

If your sheet highlights critical path rows, use is on critical path or is not on critical path to show or hide those rows. To set up critical path tracking, see Tracking a project's critical path.

Find rows with attachments or comments

Use has attachments or has comments to isolate rows that need action, such as files to download or comment threads to reply to. Use does not have attachments or does not have comments to hide those rows.

Find locked and unlocked rows

Use Row is locked or Row is not locked to show or hide rows that only Admins can edit. This helps users with Editor permissions identify which rows they're allowed to change.