Use AutoFilter in PlanMaker to Find Matching Sales

AutoFilter hides rows that do not match your selection; it does not delete them. That distinction makes filtering a safer first step than removing records from a workbook.

Practice data

Download sales data CSV and open it with the import dialog. It has eight orders across North/South regions and Online/Retail channels.

Region	Orders visible when filtering North	Total Amount
North	4	300
South	4	280
Both	8	580

Amounts are simple teaching examples, not real customer transactions.

Enable and use AutoFilter

1. Import the dataset, checking that Amount is numeric and all three headings occupy the first row.
2. Select the heading row and data range together (for example A1:C9).
3. Choose Data → Filter → AutoFilter in PlanMaker’s ribbon interface.
4. Open the filter on the Region heading and select North only.
5. Count the four visible matching orders and check their amounts: 120, 80, 60, and 40.
6. Clear the filter or use the Show all command to restore the eight-row view.

Important distinctions

• Filtering is not sorting. Sorting changes display order; filtering temporarily hides nonmatching rows.
• The visible figures above are reference sums calculated from the records. A normal SUM over a full range can still include filtered-out rows; use an appropriate visible-row subtotal function when that is what you need.
• Be careful when copying or deleting from a filtered range; investigate how your PlanMaker version handles hidden rows before bulk operations.

Troubleshooting

• No dropdowns: select the table including the header before activating AutoFilter.
• The region list contains two apparent North entries: clean trailing spaces or inconsistent capitalization.
• Amounts are treated as text: revisit the CSV import’s column data types.

Next: Create a PlanMaker pivot table to aggregate both regions and channels without manually filtering each combination.

Verification: Eight-row counts and totals were checked independently; ribbon navigation is documentation-checked only.

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Official documentation: Software manual or vendor release notes. This article is part of a staged content batch; confirm the interface and output in the stated software before public deployment.