Microsoft Excel course

Excel Lesson 5

Tables, Sorting, and Filtering

First-time setup and success checks

Lesson goal in plain language: Convert data into an accessible Excel table and use keyboard commands to sort and filter records.

Prepare before step 1

  1. Open the correct application, website, or device screen and wait for its name to be announced.
  2. Open Excel manual and review the matching procedure if any command or term is unfamiliar.
  3. Use only fictional, public, disposable, or instructor-provided practice information. Make a copy before changing an important file.
  4. Read all numbered instructions once before performing them so you know the intended final result.

Commands used or referenced

Enter, Ctrl+T., Alt+Down, Insert+Spacebar,, Alt+Q

For a plus-sign command, hold the modifier key, press and release the final key, then release the modifier. For a sequence, press and release each key in order. Stop after every command and listen for the result.

Work and verify

  1. Perform one numbered instruction and stop. Identify the active window, focused control, selected item, cell, slide, message, field, or device area before continuing.
  2. Compare the result with the lesson goal. A sound alone is not enough; verify the name, state, value, location, permission, or content.
  3. If the result is wrong, press Escape once to leave an unexpected menu, identify focus again, and use Undo only when the change is safely reversible.
  4. Save or synchronize at natural stopping points. Use the required filename Excel-Lesson-5.xlsx.
  5. Complete the “Before submitting” checklist from top to bottom. Correct missing items before marking the lesson complete.
  6. Close and reopen the practice item, or return to it from the product’s main screen, to prove you can locate and verify the result independently.

Success standard: Explain what each major command did, show the finished result, and recover from one harmless focus or navigation error without another person naming the next key.

Goal

Convert data into an accessible Excel table and use keyboard commands to sort and filter records.

Skills practiced

Step-by-step instructions

  1. Create a blank workbook with the headers Employee, Department, Training Status, and Due Date in row 1.
  2. Enter at least eight fictional employee records. Use Complete, In Progress, or Not Started in the Training Status column.
  3. Select any cell in the list and press Ctrl+T.
  4. Confirm the correct range and check My table has headers, then press Enter.
  5. Move to a header cell and press Alt+Down Arrow to open its filter menu.
  6. In the Department header, sort A to Z using the menu.
  7. In the Training Status header, filter the table so only Not Started records remain.
  8. Review the visible rows with the Arrow keys.
  9. Open the filter again and choose Clear Filter so all records return.
  10. Give the table a meaningful name through Table Design if available, such as TrainingTracker.
  11. Save the workbook as Excel-Lesson-5.xlsx.

JAWS help: Press Insert+Spacebar, then J, to search JAWS commands when you forget a keystroke. Ribbon KeyTips can differ slightly by Microsoft 365 update, so Alt+Q search is included where useful.

Your assignment

Create a training tracker with at least eight fictional employees, convert it to a table, sort by Department, and confirm that filtering by Training Status works.

Save the finished assignment as Excel-Lesson-5.xlsx.

Before submitting