How To Keep Total When Filtering In Excel

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How To Keep Total When Filtering In Excel

How to in Excel
Why Know How
Common Use Cases
Sourcetable vs Excel
Frequently Asked Questions

Introduction

Filtering in Excel helps you display only the data that meets certain criteria, but keeping a running total while filtering can be complex. This guide provides clear steps to ensure your totals adjust dynamically as you apply or remove filters.

By the end of this tutorial, we will explore how Sourcetable's AI chatbot eliminates the complexity of Excel functions by letting you simply describe what analysis you want to perform, and you can try it now to instantly answer any spreadsheet question.

Keeping Totals When Filtering in Excel

To maintain accurate totals when applying filters in Excel, utilize the SUBTOTAL function. This function ensures the summation of only visible cells, disregarding those that are hidden manually or through filters.

Using SUBTOTAL for Visible Cells

Employ the SUBTOTAL function by inserting =SUBTOTAL(109, your_range) into a cell. The '109' argument specifies that you want to sum the visible cells. Replace 'your_range' with the actual range of cells you wish to sum.

Advantages of SUBTOTAL

The SUBTOTAL function is superior when filtering data because it automatically adjusts the total to only include visible cells, providing an accurate sum despite the applied filters.

Issues with SUM in Filtered Data

Avoid using the SUM function alone for filtered data, as it includes both visible and hidden cells in the total. This can lead to incorrect totals when rows are hidden by filters.

Formatting and Errors

Ensure that numbers are not formatted as text, as this can cause the SUM function to malfunction. Additionally, a #Name error may indicate a misspelling in your SUM formula.

Answer Any Spreadsheet Question

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Excel Filtering with Totals: Key Use Cases

Track Monthly Expenses While Filtering Non-Essential Purchases	Keep track of your total monthly spending while being able to hide or show discretionary expenses. This allows you to quickly assess your essential spending versus overall budget and identify areas for potential savings.
Calculate Sales Performance Across Product Categories	Monitor total revenue while filtering different product lines or categories. This enables quick analysis of product performance and helps identify top-selling categories without losing sight of overall sales figures.
Monitor Department-Level Employee Hours	Track total workforce hours while viewing specific departments or teams. This helps manage labor costs and staffing needs while maintaining visibility of total organizational work hours.
Manage Selective Inventory Tracking	View total inventory value while filtering specific product types or storage locations. This enables focused inventory management while maintaining awareness of total stock levels and value.
Analyze Customer Feedback by Service Category	Evaluate customer satisfaction scores for specific service areas while maintaining visibility of overall performance metrics. This allows for targeted service improvements while tracking overall customer satisfaction trends.

Excel vs. Sourcetable: Traditional Spreadsheets Meet AI Innovation

While Excel relies on manual functions and formulas for data analysis, Sourcetable revolutionizes spreadsheet work with its AI-powered interface. Simply chat with Sourcetable's AI to create spreadsheets, analyze data, and generate visualizations without learning complex formulas. Experience the future of spreadsheets by signing up for Sourcetable to solve any spreadsheet challenge instantly.

Ease of Use

Excel requires users to learn complex functions and formulas. Sourcetable eliminates this learning curve with a conversational AI interface that handles all spreadsheet tasks through simple text commands.

Data Analysis Capabilities

While Excel demands manual formula creation and data manipulation, Sourcetable's AI automatically analyzes data of any size from various file formats or database connections based on natural language requests.

Visualization and Reporting

Excel's chart creation process involves multiple steps and manual formatting. Sourcetable generates stunning visualizations instantly when you describe what you want to see through the AI chat interface.

Data Processing Speed

Excel can be slow with large datasets and complex calculations. Sourcetable handles data of any size efficiently, performing complex analyses through simple AI-powered conversations.

Workflow Automation

Excel requires manual implementation of automation through macros and VBA. Sourcetable automates entire workflows through conversational commands to its AI, saving hours of manual work.

How do I keep the total row visible when filtering data in Excel?

To keep the total row visible while filtering: 1) Turn off AutoFilter, 2) Select your data range excluding the total row, 3) Turn AutoFilter back on for just the selected range.

What function should I use to maintain accurate totals while filtering in Excel?

Use the SUBTOTAL function as it automatically calculates the sum of only visible cells when filters are applied. This is the most common approach for maintaining accurate totals with filtered data.

What's the best alternative to SUBTOTAL for filtering multiple datasets?

SUMIF is recommended instead of SUBTOTAL when working with multiple filtered datasets. This will ensure more accurate calculations across multiple data ranges.

What's the difference between SUBTOTAL and AGGREGATE for maintaining totals with filters?

While both work with filtered data, AGGREGATE offers more features than SUBTOTAL, including the ability to ignore error cells and ignore other SUBTOTAL or AGGREGATE formulas in the reference range.

Conclusion

Excel totals can become complex when using filters. Proper setup of formulas and data structure is essential for accurate calculations.

Modern spreadsheet solutions offer simpler alternatives. Sourcetable eliminates these complexities with its AI-powered interface. You can instantly get answers about totals, filters, and other spreadsheet functions through its chatbot.

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How To Keep Total When Filtering In Excel

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Introduction