Sorting and Filtering

Use Sort to arrange sheet data in ascending or descending order. You can apply up to three levels of sorting.

Sorting affects existing rows in the sheet. When new rows are added, you need to sort again to include them.

Sorting the sheet only affects your view and isn't persistent for other users. 

Sort rows in grid view

In grid view, you can’t undo a sort after the sheet is saved. Ensure the rows in your sheet are arranged as desired before saving it.

When sorting, you can choose to work with all rows in your sheet or only selected rows. 

Sort all rows

1. Right-click on a column header and open the column options menu. 
2. Select Sort Rows. The Sort form appears.
   
3. Enter sort criteria and then select OK.

Sort a selection of rows 

1. Highlight the rows by holding down the Shift key and selecting the row numbers you want to sort.
2. Right-click the selected area, then select Sort Rows.
3. In the Sort form, enter your sort criteria and selectOK.

Sort your data in table view

To sort rows in ascending or descending order in table view, you can:

• Open the column options menu and select Sort rows.

Or,

• In the toolbar, select Sort > Add a sort and choose the column you want.

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When applying a sort, the arrow next to the selected column name indicates the sorting order. Select it to change to reverse the order. 

When one or two sort levels are applied, Add a sort is still available, as you can sort up to three levels.

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How different data types are sorted

The type of data you sort influences the result. Here are a few examples:

• Hierarchy: If you’ve created sub-items, the sub-items are sorted but kept beneath their parent row. The parent rows are also sorted, but their sub-items move with them.
• Data created with a Dropdown list: If you sort on a column that is a Dropdown List type, items are sorted using the order of the drop-down list values. Double-click on a column header and select Edit Column Properties to view/edit these values or to change their order.
• Harvey Ball values: When sorted in ascending order, the values will be ordered as Empty > Quarter > Half >Three-Quarters > Full > Blank.
• Red-Yellow-Green values: When sorted in ascending order, the values will be ordered as Red > Yellow > Green > Blank.

• Mixed letters and numbers: Values that start with a letter and include a number will be sorted first in alphabetical order, then in numerical order, starting from the leftmost digit. For example, the values Q1, Q2, Q3, Q12, will be sorted as Q1, Q12, Q2, Q3.

  When sorting in ascending or descending order, blank rows are sorted below rows with values.

Sort behavior in reports

When you sort a report, items are sorted in ascending or descending order. If you sort on a column that is a Dropdown List type in the source sheet, items aren’t sorted based on the predetermined dropdown values in the included source sheets.

A report can pull from multiple sheets and consolidate columns with the same name and column type. If the dropdown list columns have different values across sheets (for example, a, b, c, d in one sheet and 1, 2, 3, 4 in another), the report cannot determine which sort to apply to the consolidated column. 

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.

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. 

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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   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    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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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.