About filtering

A filtered list, document library, or discussion board displays only the rows that meet the criteria you specify for a column. Unlike sorting, filtering does not rearrange the items. Filtering hides rows you do not want displayed.

Two ways to filter items

Apply a filter in the current view.

Switch to a view that displays filtered items.

There are two ways to filter items:

Apply a filter

You can quickly filter a list when you view the list in your Web browser. To filter items this way, you select the value you want for a particular column.

Define a view

You can set up a view that displays the filtered items. When you define the view, you specify conditions that include or exclude one or more of the following:

Specific values
A range of values
A variable, such as the current user or the current day

To filter items this way, you click a hyperlink to display the view.