If you have ever used filters for your Google Sheets workbooks before, slicers are an additional feature that will definitely upgrade your workflow. If you haven’t used either of these tools before, this guide will teach you how to use them in the easiest way possible.
Before we get to how to use it, let us take a look at what it is.
What is a Slicer in Google Sheets?
A slicer is an interactive toolbar that allows you to sort through your spreadsheet based on specific values and data. You can use them to change visible information in your spreadsheet through the use of an easily accessible widget.
We will give an example on the use of these but let’s try to differentiate slicers versus filters before we get started.
Google Sheets Slicer vs Filter: What's the Difference?
Both a Slicer and a Filter will perform the same functions and allow you to sift or refine through your data given specified values or conditions. However, you will have to reactivate and deactivate your filters every time you change your conditions.
Shifting between views might also get a little tedious and be less intuitive when there are multiple people using your sheets or when there are several columns you want to categorize through. Slicers can be helpful in these types of cases.
How to Add a Slicer in Google Sheets
We have created a sample sheet for your convenience. Click here to access the sheet and follow along at home.
1. Prepare and Select your data range
Here we have a long list of tasks assignments and their respective due dates.
2. Go to Data in the File Menu and Select “Add A Slicer”
3. The Slicer tool will appear and should be ready to use!
You will see a dark gray tool appear alongside an editor tab at the right. We will check how to use our widget below.
How to Use Slicer in Google Sheets
1. In the Slicer editor, choose a column you want to filter by
For our sample, we want to be able to quickly see task assignments per person so we select the “Assigned To” Column.
2. In the widget, press the All dropdown menu.
The dropdown menu will show the several options you want to filter by. It will also show all unique values in your chosen column. By default, they will all be checked and visible
3. Press Clear to deselect other values
4. Select your chosen value
Let’s select Autumn Calhoun to see all tasks assigned to her. You can select multiple options to set them as visible in your workbook.
5. Press OK.
Now we can only see the tasks for Autumn. You can go back to your widget and select other people or select several people to see them simultaneously.
How to Edit the Slicer Widget
You can adjust the slicer widget and fully customize it to your preference by following these steps:
1. Click on your widget to select it
This should display a handling box with blue points around your widget. You can use these points to adjust the width and height of your widget.
2. Click the three dots on the right hand side of your widget
This will open up several options you can use to modify, duplicate or delete your slicer. Here we let us continue to edit our widget.
3. Select Edit Slicer
4. Go to the Customize Tab
You can customize the display settings and fonts in the editor in the customize tab.
After fully adjusting your widget, you can continue to use it for other functions. You can also use this for multiple columns and or values to help you sort through large datasets.
Simply add another slicer assigned to another column. Utilizing this feature will help you create an interactive and intuitive space where you and your teammates can share a Google Sheet efficiently.
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