Stop Copying and Pasting Data in Excel — Use the FILTER Function Instead

If you’ve ever spent time copying and pasting data from one part of an Excel sheet to another — trying to pull out just the records you need — you’re not alone.

It’s one of the most common (and time-wasting) habits in Excel.

The good news? You don’t need to do it anymore.

With the FILTER function, Excel can automatically extract just the data you want — and it updates instantly when your source data changes. No more manual work, no more broken copies, and no more forgetting to update your reports.

What the FILTER Function Does

The FILTER function allows you to return a dynamic subset of your data based on one or more conditions.

In other words:

You tell Excel what you’re looking for, and it gives you exactly that — automatically.

• No sorting.

• No copy-pasting.

• No extra tabs cluttering your file.

The Formula

Here’s the version I used in the video:

=FILTER($B$2:$B$32, $A$2:$A$32 = E$1)

How It Works:

• $A$2:$A$32 → The range containing the criteria (for example, Project Names)

• $B$2:$B$32 → The range you want returned (like Employee Names)

• E$1 → The specific project name or value you want to filter by

As soon as you enter the formula, Excel instantly spills all matching results into your list — no dragging, no copying.

DOWNLOAD EXERCISE FILE:

EmployeeProjects-01.xlsx

Download XLSX • 11KB