Quickly filter a table by combination of selected cell values using VBA

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Filtering is one of the most used feature in Excel. It is a quick way to take lots of data and narrow down to the subset we want.

Naturally, there are many powerful ways to work with filters. To name a few,

But here is one common filtering scenario that is slow as snail.

Imagine you are looking at some sort of sales data (if you can’t imagine, look at the below demo).

Now, you want to filter this list for a combination like, gender=male, profession=self-employed, product category = chocolates and  quantity = 1.

If you use the right click, filter > filter by selected value approach, this will take several clicks.

Wouldn’t it be cool if you can select the entire combination and say filter?

Unfortunately, no such feature exists in Excel.

But you are not aiming to be ordinary in Excel.  You are aiming to be awesome in Excel. That means, you don’t take no for answer.

Fortunately, we can quickly write a VBA macro that filters a list by selection. So let’s do that. Here is what you will learn to create:

filter-by-selected-cell-combination-macro-demo

Filtering a table by selected combination of values using VBA

What we need to achieve?

Our goal is simple. User (that is you) selects a range of cells depicting the conditions for filtering. Something like this.

After selection, we fire up the filtering macro and instantly our list is filtered.

We can select a single-range or multiple cells (using CTRL+select technique)

Just to keep things simple, let’s assume the data is always in a table.

Algorithm / Steps for the VBA macro

Whenever you attempt to write VBA code, it is a good idea to start by writing down the steps in plain English. This is called as algorithm. By writing down the steps, we force our mind to think clearly about the problem at hand and come up with best possible solution.

Here are the steps for filtering the table by selected combination

  1. Make sure user has selected some values in a table
  2. Check if more than one row is selected. If so, exit as we don’t want to filter based OR conditions, we just want to filter based on AND conditions.
  3. For each cell in the selection
    1. Find out the corresponding column number
    2. Apply filtering on the table for corresponding column number with the cell’s value
  4. Repeat for next cell
  5. Done

VBA code – Filtering based on selected combination

Here is the VBA code for filtering based on selected combination. First examine the code. Then, we will understand key segments of it.



Sub combinationFilter()
    Dim cell As Range, tableObj As ListObject, subSelection As Range
    Dim filterCriteria() As String, filterFields() As Integer
    Dim i As Integer
    
    'If the selection is in a table and one row height
        
    If Not Selection.ListObject Is Nothing And Selection.rows.Count = 1 Then
        Set tableObj = ActiveSheet.ListObjects(Selection.ListObject.Name)
        
        i = 1
        ReDim filterCriteria(1 To Selection.Cells.Count) As String
        ReDim filterFields(1 To Selection.Cells.Count) As Integer
        
        ' handle multi-selects
        
        For Each subSelection In Selection.Areas
            For Each cell In subSelection
                filterCriteria(i) = cell.Text
                filterFields(i) = cell.Column - tableObj.Range.Cells(1, 1).Column + 1
                i = i + 1
            Next cell
        Next subSelection
        
        With tableObj.Range
            For i = 1 To UBound(filterCriteria)
                .AutoFilter field:=filterFields(i), Criteria1:=filterCriteria(i)
            Next i
        End With
        Set tableObj = Nothing
    End If
End Sub

How does the combinationFilter() macro work?

Checking if selected cells are inside a table

We start by checking if the selection is inside a table by checking if the Selection.ListObject is not nothing. (Aside: there is no direct way to ask if there is a listobject. So we ask indirectly, by saying Not Selection.ListObject Is Nothing.)

Once we know that Selection is inside a table, we grab the table object and set it to the variable tableObj.

Finding out what to filter

To set filters on a table, we need to know the field number (ie column number inside the table) and filter criteria.

Filter criteria is denoted by cell values in the selection.

We are extracting filter criteria values & determining the column numbers for each of the selection’s cells using a simple For Each loop.

Setting up the filters

Once all the filter criteria are determined, we simply loop thru the criteria and set the filters on table using tableObj.Range.AutoFilter method.

How to use this macro for your data?

This macro is designed to work with any table. I have tested it in Excel 2010 & Excel 2013 and it seems to work alright.

To use it with your data, follow below steps.

  1. Open your personal macros file
  2. Copy the combinationFilter() macro and paste it in your Personal Macros workbook in a module
  3. Save and close personal macros file.
  4. Add this macro to Excel ribbon or quick access toolbar (QAT)
    1. To add to ribbon: Refer to below picture.adding-macros-to-ribbon-tabs-howto
    2. To add to Quick Access Toolbar – click here for instructions.
  5. Once you select the combination to filter, click on the ribbon / QAT button.
  6. Done!

Download Selected Combination Filter Macro

Please click here to download the example workbook. Play with the macro to understand it better.

New to VBA? Learn how to exploit its awesome power

If you are new to VBA, you might find above example both awesome & hard to digest. But don’t worry. Start with this simple crash course on VBA. Check out more VBA examples. Very soon you will be automating parts of your work and impressing your boss. All the best.

Do you find the combination filter useful?

When I first thought about this macro, I feared the code might be too long or confusing. But I am happy with the outcome. It is a crisp, simple and powerful macro that I can use often when working with lots of data.

What about you? Do you find this macro useful? How are you planning to deploy it for your work situations. Let me know in the comments area.

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29 Responses to “You are invited [personal]”

  1. Umar says:

    Dear Sir,
    This is to just Wish the kids a Happy birthday in Advance.May Almighty bless them all strength,Success

  2. Nanda says:

    Dear Chandoo,

    My best wishes to your child.I had become regular visitor of your site and finally today it made me to post a comment...

  3. Best wishes from my end! Dont think it would be possible to personally come .. but my best wishes would always be there!! 🙂

  4. bill says:

    Chandoo, thank you for the kind invitation. I wish a special birthday day for your daughters, Nishanth & Nakshatra. Will you be serving "dudh pakh"?
    -bill

  5. Venus says:

    What a kind thought to invite us!
    I pray your family will be continually blessed.

  6. Jerryboy says:

    Thank you very much for the invitation, how I wish Philippines is just a Jeepney ride away from India. Best wishes for your baby girls and more blessings to come.

  7. Francis Chin says:

    Hi Chandoo,

    Thanks for the invitation ! You treat everyone that comes to your site as part of your family community. Me and my family wishes Nishanth & Nakshatra a very very happy birthday !!

    Though physically we cant be with you to celebrate the occasion, you know our blessing are with you !

    To be a father is not easy, furthermore you have to be a father to 2 kids !

    Francis
    Dad of 2 and 9 year old.

  8. Emma says:

    Hi Chandoo,
    It was very kind of you to invite us all along to the 'Extravaganza'. Like others that have commented here I too, am to far (Australia) to pop over for a piece of cake 🙂 Best wishes to you and your family on such a milestone.
    Emma
    (soon to be mum of 1!!!)

  9. Vijesh says:

    Dear Chandoo
    God bless Nishanth & Nakshatra. Wishing you and your family a very enjoyable first birthday party.
    (Father of a 9 month baby... wondering how you manage 2 !!! )

  10. Ninad Pradhan says:

    God bless the little ones. Have a blast.

  11. fred says:

    Hi Chandoo

    Happy birthday !
    Indeed children are a blessing and make our lives much more deeper.

  12. govi says:

    Wow! I wonder how that would look; all those Excel users partying with your cute kids!
    Enjoy the festivities and remember; they grow up really fast.

  13. Ram Kapoor says:

    Dear Chandoo,

    Thanks for your invitation!

    Please accept my wishes for Nishanth & Nakshatra, and a very very happy birthday to both of them.

    (Father of a 1 year old baby)

  14. Vijay says:

    Hi Chandoo,

    Thanks for the invitation. Wishing Nishanth and Nakshatra a very happy birthday and God bless all of you!

  15. Lynn says:

    Howdy Chandoo,
    Gosh, would love to attend the birthday party for your little blessings but I live in Dallas, TX. The children are beautiful. Thank you so much for the Excel information, tips, hints, special formulas, etc., you and your children are really a blessing. I look forward to your e-mails and check your web site frequently. Regards, Lynn

  16. Kalyan Verma says:

    Chandoo Garu,

    Your kids look adorable. Congratulations. My Aashirwaadam to both of them.

    Regards,
    Kalyan Verma

  17. Chandoo says:

    @all: Thank you every one for the wishes, blessings and prayers. We are very excited and busy with the birthday preps now. I will share a pic or two when its over... 🙂

  18. Nilesh Desai says:

    Wish you and your entire family all the blessings. May god provide your babies with all the love and charm in the entire universe.

  19. Helen says:

    Like Emma I am rather far away (South Africa), but best wishes to you and your family on this special occasion.
    (Mother of 7 and grandmother of 5)

  20. Rajatha says:

    Dear Chandoo,

    May God Bless your little ones with Good Health... Happy birthday to them from me... Wish i could be there but work doesn't permit me to travel 🙁

    And thanks again for treating all of us like your family

    Rajatha

  21. saurabh says:

    Sir.

    God bless the two little angels with all the happiness in the world.....

  22. Penny Bradley says:

    Wishing Nishanth and Nakshatra a very happy first birthday. My youngest has just turned 18, and I wish you and your family every happiness in the exciting journey ahead.

  23. Julien G says:

    Hi Chandoo,

    I'm reading your blog for more than a year now, and i'm very pleased by this invitation.
    I wish a very special Happy Birthday to the 2 little ones from Mauritius Island.

    If, for any reason, you are coming on the island in the future, feel free to drop me a mail.

    Have a nice party, and a nice year to come with Nishanth and Nakshatra.

  24. John Franco says:

    Happy birthday!

    Your babies are beautiful!

    This year is not possible for us to attend. My family will be there for your next family party.

    Enjoy the cake and dinner

  25. Pankaj Kumar says:

    May God Bless your little ones with Good Health… Happy birthday to them from me....I am also the father my little daughter named akanksha, she is 2.5 yrs old,,,,but i am unemployed 2 yrs ,,i know when u become a dad u r many hopes.

  26. V S Venkatraman says:

    Guru

    My belated wishes for your kids... I feel sorry for having missed them to wish to the right time.... May almighty shower all his blessings on your family.....

    With regards

  27. Gene Magerr says:

    Chandoo,

    Congratulations. Please give you children a big Happy Birthday (one day late) from me. Enjoy, they grow up very fast

    Gene

  28. Chandoo says:

    @all.. thanks for the wishes and blessings. We had a fantastic weekend with all the relatives, friends. Kids loved the cake, enjoyed the beach and had fun playing with gifts. Here are some photos..

    birthday-morningkids-at-beach

  29. Mick C says:

    Chandoo & family - greetings from Ireland, hope you enjoyed the day!

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