Section author: Laiton Hedley

Filtering Data

Use Filters to subset your data for specific analyses without deleting any rows. For example, you can restrict an analysis to only participants who smoke, or only those within a certain age range.

Adding a Filter

1. Click the Data tab in the ribbon.

2. Click the Filters button. A filter row will appear at the top of your dataset.

3. Type your criteria into the formula box (e.g., Smoke == 'Yes').

Once applied, the first column of your spreadsheet shows which rows are included (✔) and which are excluded (✘). Any analysis or plot you create will now only use the included rows.

Table 9 Example of Filtering Data

Filter	Smoke	Outcome
✔	Yes	10
✘	No	4
✘	No	6
✔	Yes	9
✔	Yes	9

Using Complex Criteria

You can filter based on multiple variables using the and and or operators. For example, to include only female participants aged 30 and over, use:

Sex == 'Female' and Age >= 30

Managing Multiple Filters

You can create multiple independent filters by clicking the plus icon (+) in the filter editor. Each filter can be toggled on or off using the switch next to its name. This allows you to quickly compare different subsets of your data.

To remove a filter entirely, open the filter editor and click the red × icon next to the filter’s name. Toggling a filter off temporarily disables it without losing the expression — deleting it removes it for good.

Note

Variable functions (e.g., VMEAN(), VSTDEV()) cannot be used directly inside a filter expression. This is because filters exclude data, which would change the very statistic (like the mean) you are trying to filter by, creating a “circular” calculation that never ends.

If you need to filter based on a whole-column statistic (like “only rows above the mean”), first create a Computed Variable using the V function, then filter based on that new column. This “freezes” the statistic so the filter can use it reliably.