Get startedGet started for free

Filtering by using a string

Sometimes you will need to select multiple entries within the Filter, which you can do by clicking each selection individually.

However; this can become time-consuming if there are many items to scroll through, such as this example which contains a list of 50 cities.

There is a shortcut to save you some time though, as you can type in a text-string, and select all of the entries that contain that string. For instance, if you want to select all of the cities in California, you can type "Cali" in the filter, and it will return only those items that contain that string.

This exercise is part of the course

Pivot Tables in Google Sheets

View Course

Exercise instructions

  • Click on the Add button in the Filters section and select City.
  • Once the City box appears, you will need to clear all of the selections, then select only the cities in California.

Hands-on interactive exercise

Turn theory into action with one of our interactive exercises

Start Exercise