In Excel: press Alt (ribbon access key) on Windows ((use menu) on Mac) to to clear filter instantly — no mouse or menu required.
Keyboard shortcut: To Clear Filter
| Platform | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Windows | Alt (ribbon access key) |
| Mac | (use menu) |
Select your target — for row/column operations, select the header; for cell operations, position the cursor first.
Press Alt (ribbon access key) on Windows. The To Clear Filter action fires without any dialog.
On Mac use (use menu). The keystroke is slightly different but achieves the exact same result.
Combine with Shift+arrow (or Ctrl+Shift+arrow) to pre-select multiple targets before pressing the shortcut.
What this does
The fastest way to to clear filter in Excel is the keyboard shortcut Alt (ribbon access key) (Windows) or (use menu) (Mac). Reaching for the mouse, right-clicking, and picking from a menu adds two or three seconds per action — multiplied across dozens of rows or columns in a session, that delay compounds quickly. The To Clear Filter shortcut short-circuits all of that: one key combination, instant result. The same idea underpins a lot of everyday Excel work, so the few minutes spent getting it right here pay back across every sheet you build afterwards. Treat it as a pattern, not a one-off, and it stops being something you look up and starts being something you reach for. Treat “shortcut to clear filter in excel” as a small repeatable workflow rather than a one-off click you hope to remember next time. Use a small test block before the live file, so any surprise in the affected filter shows up while it is still harmless. When this is a ribbon command, the selection matters more than the button: confirm the range, apply the command, then spot-check the output before saving. That turns a data step that keeps your analysis trustworthy into a method you can reuse, explain, and defend when the workbook leaves your screen.
A worked example
Example: a colleague sends you a data table and you need to to clear filter twice in quick succession. Select the first target, press Alt (ribbon access key) (or (use menu) on Mac), then move to the next target and press Alt (ribbon access key) again — the repetition locks in quickly. For inserting or deleting multiple rows/columns at once, pre-select that many rows before pressing the To Clear Filter shortcut and Excel applies the action to all of them simultaneously. Reach for Alt (ribbon access key) ((use menu) on Mac) every time you need to to clear filter and want to stay keyboard-first. The payoff is consistency: the same shortcut works in any Excel version from 2010 through Microsoft 365, on Windows and Mac (with the appropriate key), so the muscle memory you build transfers across every version you ever use. If there is any chance you will reuse this, drop it into a small template tab right now: a labelled input area on the left and the formula beside it, checked once against the tool above. Next time the same question comes up, the answer is a single paste away instead of a rebuild from memory.
In Google Sheets
If you are in Google Sheets rather than Excel, the good news is that the formula shown here is identical and the workflow barely changes — menus sit across the top instead of in a ribbon, and a few function names differ slightly, but anything you build here moves across with little or no rework. Nothing on this page is behind a login: the tool runs entirely in your browser, the formula is shown in full with one-click copy, and the steps work the same on Windows and Mac. That is the whole promise here — the exact answer, a way to prove it on your own numbers, and just enough context to make it stick. The short version of “shortcut to clear filter in excel”: the answer is at the top of this page, the tool proves it on your own numbers, and the sections above explain why it holds so the next variation does not stump you. Excel rewards people who reference cells instead of typing values and who keep inputs separate from formulas, because that is what makes a result you can audit months later. Build it once, deliberately, with the live tool as a check, and you convert a one-off lookup into a reusable skill — which is the whole point of learning the why and not just the what.
Common mistakes
- Using Ctrl instead of the correct modifier or vice versa — always double-check whether Alt (ribbon access key) starts with Ctrl, Alt, or Shift.
- Activating a cell for editing (cursor visible inside the cell) before pressing the shortcut — many shortcuts only fire when a cell is selected, not in edit mode. Press Escape to exit edit mode first.
- Expecting the shortcut to work the same in Google Sheets: most To Clear Filter shortcuts are Excel-specific; Sheets uses different key combos for the same operations.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Mac shortcut for To Clear Filter?
Yes — on Mac use (use menu). The function is identical to pressing Alt (ribbon access key) on Windows; only the modifier keys differ because Mac replaces Ctrl with ⌘ and sometimes Alt with Option (⌥).
What if the To Clear Filter shortcut (Alt (ribbon access key)) doesn't work?
Check that you are not in cell-edit mode (press Escape first), that no dialog is open, and that no add-in has reassigned the shortcut. On a laptop, some function keys require pressing Fn first.
Can I use the To Clear Filter shortcut multiple times in a row?
Yes — press Alt (ribbon access key) repeatedly for each To Clear Filter action, or pre-select multiple rows/columns and press the shortcut once to apply it to all of them simultaneously. You can also press F4 after the first use to repeat the last action.
Other ways people ask this
This is also commonly searched as “excel clear filter shortcut”, “excel shortcut to clear filters”, “keyboard shortcut to clear filter in excel” and “shortcut key for clear filter in excel”. They describe the identical operation, so you are in the right place no matter how you phrased it.
Is there a keyboard shortcut for this?
Yes — “shortcut to clear filter in excel” is one key combination away rather than a trip through the menus. Use the Windows/Mac toggle above to see the exact keys for your machine, and remember Ctrl on Windows maps to ⌘ on Mac.
Why do people search for this in so many different ways?
Because the same task has many names. “excel clear filter shortcut”, “excel shortcut to clear filters”, “keyboard shortcut to clear filter in excel” all point at the one operation explained on this page, which is why they all lead here.