How to Use VBA Autofilter for Not Equal To in 3 Minutes (Excel)

Written by Kasper Langmann

The Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) Autofilter is a powerful tool for data manipulation in Excel. It allows you to filter data based on specific criteria, making it easier to analyze and interpret. One of the most useful features of the VBA Autofilter is the ‘Not Equal To’ function. This function allows you to filter out data that does not meet a certain condition, providing a more focused view of your data. In this guide, we will walk you through the process of using the VBA Autofilter for ‘Not Equal To’ in just 3 minutes.

Understanding VBA Autofilter

The VBA Autofilter is a feature of Excel that allows you to filter data in a range of cells based on specific criteria. It is a part of the Visual Basic for Applications, a programming language developed by Microsoft that is used for automating tasks in Microsoft Office applications. The Autofilter is particularly useful when working with large datasets, as it allows you to quickly and easily isolate relevant data.

One of the most powerful features of the VBA Autofilter is its ability to filter data based on a ‘Not Equal To’ condition. This means that you can filter out all data that does not meet a certain condition, allowing you to focus on the data that is most relevant to your analysis. This can be particularly useful when you are looking for anomalies or outliers in your data.

Using the ‘Not Equal To’ Function

The ‘Not Equal To’ function in the VBA Autofilter is used by setting the criteria argument to “<>value”. The “<>” operator is the symbol for ‘Not Equal To’ in VBA. The “value” is the condition that you want to filter out. For example, if you want to filter out all cells that do not contain the number 5, you would set the criteria argument to “<>5”.

It’s important to note that the ‘Not Equal To’ function is case sensitive. This means that if you are filtering text data, you will need to ensure that your criteria matches the case of the data in your cells. If you want to ignore case, you can use the UPPER or LOWER functions to convert all data to the same case before applying the filter.

Step-by-Step Guide to Using the ‘Not Equal To’ Function

Step 1: Set Up Your Data

Before you can use the ‘Not Equal To’ function, you need to have a dataset to work with. This can be any range of cells in an Excel worksheet. For the purpose of this guide, we will assume that you have a dataset in the range A1:B10.

It’s important to ensure that your data is clean and well-structured before applying the filter. This means removing any blank rows or columns, and ensuring that all data is in the correct format. For example, if you are filtering numerical data, you should ensure that all numbers are stored as numbers, not as text.

Step 2: Apply the Autofilter

To apply the Autofilter, you need to select the range of cells that you want to filter. You can do this by clicking and dragging over the cells, or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow (to select to the end of the row) or Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow (to select to the end of the column).

Once you have selected your range, you can apply the Autofilter by going to the ‘Data’ tab in the Excel ribbon, and clicking on the ‘Filter’ button. This will add drop-down arrows to the headers of your selected range, which you can click on to set your filter criteria.

Step 3: Set the ‘Not Equal To’ Criteria

To set the ‘Not Equal To’ criteria, you need to click on the drop-down arrow in the header of the column that you want to filter. This will open a menu with various filter options. Click on the ‘Number Filters’ or ‘Text Filters’ option, depending on the type of data in your column, and then click on the ‘Does Not Equal’ option.

In the dialog box that appears, enter the value that you want to filter out in the ‘Does Not Equal’ field, and then click on the ‘OK’ button. This will apply the filter, and only the rows that do not contain the specified value in the selected column will be visible.

Conclusion

Using the VBA Autofilter for ‘Not Equal To’ is a simple and effective way to filter out unwanted data in Excel. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can quickly and easily apply this filter to your own datasets, allowing you to focus on the data that is most relevant to your analysis.

Remember, the key to effective data analysis is not just having the right tools, but knowing how to use them. With the VBA Autofilter and the ‘Not Equal To’ function, you have a powerful tool at your disposal. Now that you know how to use it, you can start making the most of your data.