Copying filtered excel data

Copying and pasting are probably one of the most used actions in an Excel spreadsheet.

But when it comes to filtered data, copy-pasting data is not always smooth.

Ever tried pasting something to a table that has been filtered? It’s not as easy as it sounds.

In this tutorial, I will show you how to copy data from a filtered dataset and how to paste in a filtered column while skipping the hidden cells.

Suppose you have the below dataset:

Given the above table, say you want to copy all the rows of employees from the IT department only.

For this, you can apply a filter to your table as follows:

1. Select the entire table.
2. From the Data tab, select the ‘Filter’ button under the ‘Sort & Filter’ group.
3. You will notice small arrows on every cell of the header row. These are meant to help you filter your cells. You can click on any arrow to choose a filter for the corresponding column.
4. In this example, we want to filter out only the rows that contain the Department “IT”. So, select the arrow next to the Department header and uncheck the boxes next to all the departments, except “IT”. You can simply uncheck “Select All” to quickly uncheck everything and then just select “IT”.
5. Click OK. You will now see only the rows with Department “IT”.

Now, copying from a filtered table is quite straightforward. When you copy from a filtered column or table, Excel automatically copies only the visible rows.

So, all you need to do is:

1. Select the visible rows that you want to copy.
2. Press CTRL+C or right-click->Copy to copy these selected rows.
3. Select the first cell where you want to paste the copied cells.
4. Press CTRL+V or right-click->Paste to paste the cells.

This should cause only the visible rows from the filtered table to get pasted.

Occasionally you might come across issues in copying the visible rows, especially when working with Subtotals or similar features.

In such cases, copying only the visible rows is quite easy too. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Select the visible rows that you want to copy.
2. Press ALT+; (ALT key and semicolon key together). If you’re on a Mac, press Cmd+Shift+Z. This shortcut lets you select only the visible rows, while skipping the hidden cells.
3. Press CTRL+C or right-click->Copy to copy these selected rows.
4. Select the first cell where you want to paste the copied cells.
5. Press CTRL+V or right-click->Paste to paste the cells.

So you see copying from filtered columns is quite straightforward.

But you can’t say the same when it comes to pasting to a filtered column.

Pasting a Single Cell Value to All the Visible Rows of a Filtered Column

When it comes to pasting to a filtered column, there may be two cases:

• You might want to paste a single value to all the visible cells of the filtered column.
• You might want to paste a set of values to visible cells of the filtered column.

For the first case, pasting into a filtered column is quite easy.

Let’s say we want to replace all the cells that have Department = “IT” with the full form: “Information Technology”.

For this, you can type the word “Information Technology” in any blank cell, copy it, and paste it to the visible cells of the filtered “Department” Column. Here’s a step-by-step on how to do this:

1. Select a blank cell and type the words “Information Technology”.
2. Copy it by press CTRL+C or Right click->Copy.
3. Select all the visible cells in the column with the “Department” header.
4. Paste the copied value by pressing CTRL+V or Right click->Paste.

You will find the value “Information Technology” pasted to only the visible cells of the column “Department”.

To verify this, remove the filter by selecting the Data->Filter. Notice that all the other cells of the “Department” column remain unchanged.

Two Ways to Paste a Set of Values to Visible Rows of a Filtered Column

Now let’s see what happens when you want to paste a set of values to the visible cells of a filtered column. Say you want to paste a list of salaries for only the rows containing Department=”Information Technology”.

If you try copying these cells and pasting them to the filtered Salary column, you will probably get an error message like “The command cannot be used on multiple selections”.

This is because you cannot paste to cells in a range that contains hidden rows or columns. It’s one of Excel’s limitations. There’s no way around that, but there are some tricks that you can use to get this done.

Here are two tricks that you can use to paste a set of values to a filtered column, skipping the hidden cells.

Pasting a Set of Values to Visible Rows of a Filtered Column – Using a Formula

In this method, we use a formula to simply copy the value of the cell to the destination cell.

For the above example (where you want to copy a set of salary values to only the rows of with Department= “Information Technology”), here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Press the equal sign (‘=’) in the first cell of the column you want to paste to (G3).
2. Now select the first cell from the list you want to copy (H3 in our example).
3. This will just create a reference to the cell. You should see the formula: =H3 in cell G3.
4. Copy this formula down by dragging down the fill handle (at the bottom right corner of cell G3). This should paste the formula only to the visible cells of column G.
5. To verify this, remove the filter by selecting Data->Filters. Here’s an image of column G without filters after the copy-paste operation. To make it clearer for you to see, I’ve highlighted the copied cells in light green.
6. Now what you copied were just references to the original cells. So if you try to remove the original cells once you’re done copy-pasting, the copied values will disappear from column G too.
7. To avoid this, you need to paste these formula results as values. This is quite easy. While you’re in the unfiltered mode, copy all the cells of column G, right-click and select ‘Paste Values’ from the popup menu.
8. That’s it, you can now go ahead and delete the original values.

Pasting a Set of Values to Visible Rows of a Filtered Column – Using VBScript

This is a fairly easier and quicker method. All you need to do is copy the VBScript given below into your developer window and run it.

Sub paste_to_filtered_col()
Dim s As Range
Dim visible_source_cells As Range
Dim destination_cells As Range
Dim source_cell As Range
Dim dest_cell As Range
Set s = Application.Selection
s.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeVisible).Select
Set visible_source_cells = Application.Selection
Set destination_cells = Application.InputBox("Please select the destination cells:", Type:=8)
For Each source_cell In visible_source_cells
source_cell.Copy
For Each dest_cell In destination_cells
If dest_cell.EntireRow.RowHeight <> 0 Then
dest_cell.PasteSpecial
Set destination_cells = dest_cell.Offset(1).Resize(destination_cells.Rows.Count)
Exit For
End If
Next dest_cell
Next source_cell
End Sub

Follow these steps to use the above code:

1. Select all the rows you need to filter (including the column headers).
2. From the Developer Menu Ribbon, select Visual Basic.
3. Once your VBA window opens, Click Insert->Module and paste the above code in the module window.

Your macro is now ready to run. To run the code:

1. First, select the cells that you want to copy.
2. Run the script by navigating to Developer->Macros-> paste_to_filtered_col
3. The code will ask you to select your destination cells (where you want to paste the copied cells).
4. Select the cells and click OK.

Your selected cells will now be copied and pasted to the destination cells. You can go ahead and delete the original cells if you want.

You can also create a small shortcut (using the Quick Access Toolbar) to run your macro whenever you need it. Here’s how:

1. Click the Customize Toolbar arrow, which you’ll find above Excel’s menu ribbon.
2. Select ‘More Commands’ from the dropdown menu that appears.
3. This will open the ‘Excel Options’ dialog box.
4. Click on the drop-down list below ‘Choose Commands From’ and select ‘Macros’.
5. Select the name of the macro you created. In our case, it’s ‘ThisWorkbook.paste_to_filtered_col’ Click on the ‘Add>>’ button.
6. Click OK.

You’ll now get a Quick Access macro button to quickly run your macro with a single click.

Whenever you need to copy and paste a set of cells to a filtered column, just select your source cells, click on this created button and then select the destination cells.

When you click OK, you should get your source cells copied into your selected destination cells.

So this is how you can copy and paste in a filtered column while skipping the hidden rows.

I hope you found this tutorial useful!

Other Excel tutorials you may like:

• How to Delete Filtered Rows in Excel (with and without VBA)
• How to Filter as You Type in Excel (With and Without VBA)
• How to Unsort in Excel (Revert Back to Original Data)
• How to Hide Rows based on Cell Value in Excel
• How to Compare Two Cells in Excel?
• How to Paste without Formatting in Excel (Shortcuts)
• How to Clear Filter in Excel? Shortcut!
• Copy and Paste shortcuts in Excel
• How to Filter by Color in Excel?

See all How-To Articles

This tutorial demonstrates how to copy filtered (visible) data in Excel and Google Sheets.

Copy Filtered Data

Say you have the following sales dataset and want to filter and copy only rows with Feb-21 in Column C (Month).

1. First, turn on AutoFilter arrows to be able to filter data.
   Click anywhere in the data range, and in the Ribbon, go to Home > Sort & Filter > Filter.

1. Now, click on the AutoFilter icon in Column C heading, tick February (under 2021), and click OK.

1. As a result of previous steps, only rows with the month Feb-2021 are filtered. To copy only visible cells, select the data range you want to copy (B1:D10), and in the Ribbon, go to Home > Find & Select > Go To Special…

1. In the Go To Special dialog box, check Visible cells only and click OK.

1. 1. Now only visible cells (filtered data) are selected. Right-click anywhere in the selected area, and click Copy (or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + C).

1. Right-click the cell where you want to paste the data, and choose Paste (or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + V).

This copies only the filtered data (Feb-21).

Copy Filtered Data in Google Sheets

Say you have the following dataset and want to filter and copy only rows with the word Wireless in Column A (Product).

1. First, turn on filter arrows. Click anywhere in the data range, and in the Toolbar, click the Filter button.

1. Now, click on the Filter icon in the Column A heading, click on Filter by condition, and choose Text contains.

1. In the box enter the wanted text (in this example Wireless) and press OK.

As a result, only rows with the word Wireless are visible.

1. 1. To copy only visible cells, select the data range you want to copy (A1:B6), right-click it, and choose Copy (or use the CTRL + C shortcut).

1. Select the cell where you want to paste the data, then right-click and click Paste.

This copies over only filtered data.

Asked by: Pedro Ullrich

Score: 4.9/5
(70 votes)

Follow these steps:

What is the shortcut to Copy filtered data in Excel?

To copy data into the same rows in a filtered list:

How do I paste excluding hidden cells?

This shortcut lets you select only the visible rows, while skipping the hidden cells. Press CTRL+C or right-click->Copy to copy these selected rows. Select the first cell where you want to paste the copied cells. Press CTRL+V or right-click->Paste to paste the cells.

How do I extract data from a filter in Excel?

Select a cell in the database. On the Excel Ribbon’s Data tab, click Advanced. In the Advanced Filter dialog box, choose ‘Copy to another location’. For the List range, select the column(s) from which you want to extract the unique values.

Can you copy filter list in Excel?

By default, Excel copies hidden or filtered cells in addition to visible cells. … Click Visible cells only > OK. Click Copy (or press Ctrl+C). Select the upper-left cell of the paste area and click Paste (or press Ctrl+V).

36 related questions found

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This Excel tutorial explains how to copy filtered data to a new worksheet in Excel 2003 and older versions (with screenshots and step-by-step instructions).

Question: In Excel 2003/XP/2000/97, I’ve filtered my data in Excel and I want to copy the filtered data to another worksheet. How do I do this?

Answer: In newer versions of Excel, the copy of filtered data does not copy the hidden rows. Because of this, we will provide a few scenarios on how to copy filtered data.

Solution #1 — Copy only visible filtered data

Our first solution demonstrates how to copy only the visible filtered data to a new worksheet.

To do this, open your Excel spreadsheet and select the filtered data. Press Ctrl+C to copy the data.

Next, select the worksheet where you’d like to paste the data. Press Ctrl+V to paste the data into the new worksheet.

The data that is pasted will only be the visible data from the filter. The rows that were hidden by the filter will not be pasted.

Solution #2 — Copy visible and hidden filtered data

Unfortunately, you can not copy and paste any of the hidden filtered data with the standard copy and paste functionality inherent in Excel. If you wish to copy all of the data, you’ll have to remove the filter before copying.

To do this, select a cell in one of the filtered rows. Under the Data menu, select Filter > Show All.

Now all of the rows should be visible. Select all of the data and press Ctrl+C.

Next, select the worksheet where you’d like to paste the data. Press Ctrl+V to paste the data into the new worksheet.

Now all of the rows should appear in the pasted data. You can now re-apply your filters.