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How to Use Slicers in Excel 2016
Edited 3 months ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team
Microsoft OfficeExcelSlicersPivot TablesFilteringVisualizationSpreadsheetWindowsMacProductivity
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Microsoft Excel 2016 is a powerful tool that allows users to organize, analyze, and visualize data in a variety of ways. One of the useful features that Excel 2016 provides is slicers. Slicers make it easy to filter data in pivot tables and tables, providing an interactive way to navigate through data.
Slicers are visual filters that clearly tell you which filters are currently applied, using buttons that you can click to quickly filter your data. Understanding how to use slicers effectively can greatly enhance your ability to view and understand data. This document will guide you on how to use slicers in Excel 2016, with each step explained in detail.
Understanding slicers
Slicers were first introduced in Excel 2010 and have become popular among users due to their easy-to-use interface. Unlike traditional drop-down filters, slicers provide a more visually appealing means of filtering your data. They provide a series of buttons that you can click to filter the data in your table or pivot table.
Benefits of using a slicer
- An immediate and clear view of the data being shown.
- Easy to use with a simple click of the buttons.
- A more intuitive and attractive way to filter data.
- Slicers are especially useful for dashboards, quickly showing or hiding data as needed.
Creating a slicer in Excel 2016
Creating a slicer is a straightforward process, but before you begin, make sure your data is in a table or pivot table. If you have raw data, convert it to a table for better functionality. Follow these steps to create a slicer:
Step 1: Select a table or pivot table
First, select the table or pivot table you want to add a slicer to. Click anywhere within the range of your data.
Step 2: Insert the slicer
Go to the "Insert" tab in the Excel ribbon at the top of the page. Click "Slicer" in the "Filter" group. This action will open the "Insert Slicer" dialog box.
Step 3: Select the fields for the slicer
In the "Insert Slicer" dialog box, Excel will list each field or column from your table or pivot table. Check the boxes for the fields you want to create slicers for. If you need slicers for multiple fields, you can check multiple boxes at once. Once you've selected your fields, click "OK."
Using slicers to filter data
Once you've inserted your slicers, they'll appear as separate floating components. Each slicer is equipped with buttons representing unique values from the field you've selected. Follow these steps to filter using a slicer:
Step 1: Filter with the slicer button
To filter your data, simply click the buttons inside the slicer that match the values you want to filter. Excel will immediately adjust the table or pivot table to display data that matches the selected slicer criteria.
Step 2: Cleaning the filter
If you want to clear the current filter, look for a small filter symbol with a red "X" inside the slicer box. Clicking this symbol will clear the current filter, and all data will be visible once again.
Step 3: Multi-select in the slicer
You can select multiple values by holding down the "Ctrl" key on your keyboard while clicking multiple buttons in the slicer. This function allows you to filter for different criteria within the same slicer.
Customizing the slicer
Excel provides options to customize your slicers to better fit your data presentation needs and make your dashboard more attractive. Here's how you can customize slicers in Excel 2016:
Modify style and appearance
You can change the style and visual appearance of your slicer through the "Slicer Tools" under the "Options" tab in the ribbon. This tab offers a variety of built-in slicer styles, but you can also manually adjust the color, font, and size.
Adjusting the slicer layout
By default, slicer buttons are arranged vertically, but you can align them horizontally. Under "Slicer Tools," look for the "Buttons" group, where you can specify the number of columns to arrange the slicer buttons in a way that best fits your worksheet.
Resizing the slicer
Hover your mouse pointer over the corners or edges of the slicer box until the cursor changes to a double-headed arrow. Click and drag to resize the slicer. This adjustment helps fit the slicer where it looks best.
Joining slicers to multiple tables or pivot tables
A great feature of slicers is that they can be linked to multiple pivot tables. This feature requires that all pivot tables are based on the same data source. Here's how to link slicers to multiple pivot tables:
Step 1: Initiate the connection
With your slicer selected, go to "Slicer Tools" under "Options" on the ribbon. In the "Slicers" group, click "Report Connection" or "PivotTable Connection," depending on your Excel version.
Step 2: Check the pivot tables
A dialog box will appear, listing all existing pivot tables that use the same data source. Check the boxes next to the pivot tables you want to connect the slicer to, then click "OK."
Practical example of using the slicer
Suppose you have sales data for a company, listed by region, product, and month. To get insight into this data, you can create a pivot table and set up slicers to filter by region and month, allowing you to quickly view sales performance in different contexts.
- Convert your sales data into a table by selecting the range and pressing "Ctrl+T" or by going to the "Insert" tab and selecting "Table."
- Create a pivot table for your data analysis needs by using the "Insert" tab and then "Pivot Table."
- With the pivot table selected, insert slicers for the "Region" and "Month" fields to allow easy filtering by these criteria.
- Using slicers, you can view sales performance by region or month, and assess which regions are performing well, or which periods require further analysis to improve performance.
Conclusion
Slicers in Excel 2016 enable quick and efficient filtering of data, giving users a clear and intuitive way to navigate large datasets or complex dashboards. By including slicers in your Excel reports, you increase the interactivity and accessibility of your data analysis efforts.
Whether you're working with pivot tables or tables, slicers provide significant value by simplifying data filtering tasks. They can become an indispensable part of your workflow when working in Excel's data manipulation environment. By mastering slicers, you're better equipped to create dynamic and user-friendly data presentations.
As you continue to explore the extensive functionality that Excel 2016 offers, using slicers effectively can greatly benefit your data management and analysis efforts.
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