How to Filter a Dataset Based on a Cell Value from Another Sheet Using VBA (4 Methods)

Dataset Overview

Let’s introduce our dataset first. We have a list of sale details for 4 different products from 2 categories. We want to filter this dataset based on a cell value that is on another sheet.

Introduction to the Range.AutoFilter Method

In the following methods, we’ll utilize the Range.AutoFilter in VBA to filter a dataset using the AutoFilter feature.

This method accepts several arguments for customization:

• Field: An integer offset representing the field (column) to set the filter on. The count starts from the leftmost side of the dataset (1-based index).
• Criteria1: The filter criteria. For example, use “=” for blank cells, “<>” for non-blank cells, and “><” for specific data types. If omitted, the method sets the criteria to include all values.
• Operator: An XLAutoFilterOperator to specify filter types (e.g., xlAnd and xlOr  for multiple criteria).
• Criteria2: Allows creating compound filter criteria when used alongside Criteria1 and Operator.
• SubField: Apply criteria to fields within a data type.
• VisibleDropDown: Determines whether the AutoFilter dropdown arrow is displayed (True) or hidden (False).

Enter Code in Visual Basic Editor

To filter data based on a cell value from another sheet, follow these steps:

• Go to the Developer tab in the Ribbon.
• Click the Visual Basic option.

• In the Visual Basic for Applications window, select Insert and choose New Module.

• Write your code inside the Visual Code Editor and press F5 to run it.

Read More: Filter Multiple Criteria in Excel with VBA (Both AND and OR Types)

Method 1 – Filter with Single Criteria Based on Cell Value from Another Sheet 

Task
Filter the dataset (Sheet1) based on a cell value from another sheet (Sheet2). We want to filter for the Fruits category.

Solution

• Set the arguments for the Range.AutoFilter method:
  • Field: 2 (since the 2nd column represents category names).
  • Criteria1: The cell reference for the value “Fruits” in Sheet2.
  • VisibleDropDown: True.

VBA Code

• Enter the following code in the Visual Basic Editor and press F5 to run it.

Option Explicit
Sub FilterBasedOnCellValueAnotherSheet()
    Dim category As Range
    With Worksheets("Sheet2")
        Set category = .Range("C2")
    End With
    With Worksheets("Sheet1")
        With .Range("B4:G13")
            .AutoFilter Field:=2, Criteria1:=category, VisibleDropDown:=True
        End With
    End With
End Sub

In the provided code, the source data range is B4:G13 in Sheet1, and the cell reference for Criteria1 is C2 (stored in the variable category) in Sheet2.

Output
The dataset is filtered to display products that belonging to the Fruits category.

Read More: How to Filter Based on Cell Value Using Excel VBA

Method 2 – Filtering with Multiple Criteria Using OR Operator Based on Cell Value from Another Sheet

Task
Filter the dataset (Sheet3) based on cell values from another sheet (Sheet4). We want to filter the dataset for products that are either Apple or Tomato.

Solution

• Set the arguments for the Range.AutoFilter method:
  • Field: 3 (since the 3rd column represents product names).
  • Criteria1: The cell reference of the value “Apple” in Sheet4.
  • Operator: xlOr.
  • Criteria2: The cell reference of the value Tomato in Sheet4.
  • VisibleDropDown: True.

VBA Code
Enter the following code in the Visual Basic Editor and press F5 to run it.

Option Explicit
Sub FilterBasedOnCellValueAnotherSheet()
    Dim product1, product2 As Range
    With Worksheets("Sheet4")
        Set product1 = .Range("C2")
        Set product2 = .Range("E2")
    End With
    With Worksheets("Sheet3")
        With .Range("B4:G13")
            .AutoFilter Field:=3, Criteria1:=product1, Operator:=xlOr, Criteria2:=product2
        End With
    End With
End Sub

Output
The dataset is filtered for products that are either Apple or Tomato.

Read More: Excel VBA: How to Filter with Multiple Criteria in Array

Method 3 – Filtering with Multiple Criteria Using AND Operator Based on Cell Value from Another Sheet

Task
Filter the dataset (Sheet5) based on cell values from another sheet (Sheet6). We want to filter the dataset for products with quantities greater than 50 but less than 60.

Solution
Set the arguments for the Range.AutoFilter method:

• Field: 4 (since the 4th column represents product quantities).
• Criteria1: The cell reference of the quantity 50 in Sheet4.
• Operator: xlAnd.
• Criteria2: The cell reference of the quantity 60 in Sheet4.
• VisibleDropDown: True.

We need to set the arguments in the Range.AutoFilter method to use in our code.
Field – 4, as the 4th column represents the quantity of the products.
Criteria1– the cell reference of the quantity 50 in Sheet4.
Operator- xlAnd
Criteria2- the cell reference of the quantity 60 in Sheet4.
VisibleDropDown– True

VBA Code
Insert the following code in the Visual Basic Editor and press F5 to run it.

Option Explicit
Sub FilterBasedOnCellValueAnotherSheet()
    Dim product1, product2 As Range
    With Worksheets("Sheet6")
        Set product1 = .Range("D2")
        Set product2 = .Range("F2")
    End With
    With Worksheets("Sheet5")
        With .Range("B4:G13")
            .AutoFilter Field:=4, Criteria1:=">" & product1, Operator:=xlAnd, Criteria2:="<" & product2
        End With
    End With
End Sub

Output
The dataset is filtered for the products with quantities greater than 50 but less than 60.

Read More: How to Remove Filter in Excel VBA

Method 4 – Using a Drop-Down List to Filter Data Based on Cell Value from Another Sheet in Excel VBA

Task
Filter the dataset (Sheet7) based on a cell value from another sheet (Sheet8). We want to filter the dataset for categories using a Drop-Down list in another sheet.

Solution

• Set the arguments for the Range.AutoFilter method:
  • Field: 2 (since the 2nd column represents category names).
  • Criteria1: The cell reference of the category name in Sheet8.
  • VisibleDropDown: True.

 Creating a Drop-Down List in Excel:

• Select cell C2 in Sheet8.

• Go to the Data tab on the Ribbon.
• Click the Data Validation button.

• In the Data Validation window, select the Setting tab.
• Choose List from the Allow drop-down list.

• Enter Fruits, Vegetables in the Source input box (separated by a comma) and click OK.

• Now cell C2 will display a drop-down list with two options to select.

VBA Code
Insert the following code in the Visual Basic Editor and press F5 to run it.

Option Explicit
Sub FilterBasedOnCellValueAnotherSheet()
    Dim category As Range
    With Worksheets("Sheet8")
        Set category = .Range("C2")
    End With
    With Worksheets("Sheet7")
        With .Range("B4:G13")
            .AutoFilter Field:=2, Criteria1:=category, VisibleDropDown:=True
        End With
    End With
End Sub

Output
The dataset is filtered for products belonging to the Fruits category.

If we change the selection in the drop-down list to vegetables, the dataset will be filtered for the products of the category vegetables.

Read More: Excel VBA to Filter in Same Column by Multiple Criteria

Things to Remember

• The AutoFilter method provides flexibility for filtering datasets.
• The xlAutoFilterOperator offers various options for setting filters with multiple criteria.
• We utilized the With…End With statement to execute repetitive tasks in our code.

Download Practice Workbook

You can download the practice workbook from here:

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