How to Sort or Filter Excel Data by Cell Contents in Office 365 and WPS Office
Question details
The user needs to move rows that match a specific value to the top of an Excel worksheet, similar to the older sort-by-contents option in Office 365.
- Product
- WPS Office Spreadsheets
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- The user is working with a worksheet and wants specific cell contents grouped at the top instead of scanning through the entire data range.
- Observed behavior
- The older sort-by-contents option is not clearly visible, and rows matching the selected value remain in their original positions until a filter or sort is applied.
Make sure the data range has a header row so filter arrows appear in the correct columns. If the worksheet contains blank rows or columns, select only the contiguous data range before applying the filter.
Filter Excel data by cell contents with the Data tab
Use this when you want to isolate rows that contain a specific value in one column.
Filtering hides the non-matching rows, so the selected content immediately appears together in the visible range.
Click any cell inside the Excel data range that you want to filter.
Go to the Data tab and click Filter in the Sort & Filter group to add dropdown arrows to the header row.
Click the dropdown arrow in the column you want to filter, then select or search for the desired value and confirm.
WPS Spreadsheets hides the other rows so all matching rows appear together; you can then edit, copy, or print them.
Sort the filtered data in ascending or descending order
Use this when you want matching rows at the top and also ordered alphabetically or numerically.
Sort or Filter Excel Data by Cell Contents with WPS Office
WPS Office Spreadsheets gives you the Data tab Filter and Sort commands, so you can quickly show or move rows that match a cell value without a complex workflow.
- 1. Open the Excel workbook: Launch WPS Office Spreadsheets and open the .xlsx file you need to sort or filter.
- 2. Select the data range: Click any cell inside the data table that contains the target contents.
- 3. Apply Filter: Go to Data > Filter to add dropdown arrows to the column headers.
- 4. Filter by the desired value: Click the dropdown arrow in the target column, then search or check the value that should appear at the top.
- 5. Sort if needed: Use Sort Ascending or Sort Descending in the same dropdown to order the matching rows.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I turn on filter arrows in WPS Office Spreadsheets?
Click any cell inside the data range, go to the Data tab, and click Filter. Dropdown arrows will appear in the header row.
Can I filter and sort by cell contents in an Office 365 workbook opened in WPS Office?
Yes. WPS Office opens .xlsx files and supports Data > Filter and Sort, so you can work with the same cell content values.
Does filtering move matching rows to the top of the worksheet?
Filtering hides non-matching rows, so matching rows appear together at the top of the visible range. To reorder matching rows, use Sort Ascending or Sort Descending.
How do I clear a filter after I finish?
Open the Data tab and click Filter again to remove the dropdown arrows, or open the column filter dropdown and choose Clear Filter.
Can I sort by more than one column?
Yes. Use Data > Sort and add multiple levels to sort by additional columns.
