How to Hide Filter Arrows in Excel Without Removing Filters

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by

Himanshu
in

✅ How to Hide Filter Arrows in Excel While Filtering

By default, when you apply a filter in Excel (via Data → Filter), small dropdown arrows appear in the header row. However, in some professional reports or dashboards, you might want to hide these arrows for a cleaner appearance — without removing the filter functionality.

🔷 Method 1: Use VBA to Hide Filter Arrows

Excel does not offer a direct built-in setting to hide filter arrows while keeping filters active, but it can be done using a simple VBA macro.

📌 Steps:

  1. Press Alt + F11 to open the VBA Editor
  2. Insert a new module (Insert > Module)
  3. Paste the following code:
vbaCopyEditSub HideFilterArrows()
    Dim ws As Worksheet
    Set ws = ActiveSheet
    
    Dim lo As ListObject
    For Each lo In ws.ListObjects
        lo.ShowAutoFilterDropDown = False
    Next lo
End Sub
  1. Run the macro (F5)

This will hide the dropdown arrows in Excel Tables, but keep the filtering logic intact.

🔷 Method 2: Use Camera Tool for Display-Only Dashboards

If you want to display filtered results only (like in a dashboard) without arrows:

  1. Apply the filter normally
  2. Use Excel’s Camera tool or Paste as Linked Picture
    • Select the filtered table → Copy
    • Go to where you want to show it → Home > Paste > As Picture > Linked Picture

This lets you display a live-updating view without arrows, and is ideal for dashboards or reports.

🔷 Method 3: Use Slicers (for Tables or PivotTables)

For a more visual and user-friendly filtering experience without any arrows:

  1. Convert your data to a Table (Ctrl + T)
  2. Go to Table Design → Insert Slicer
  3. Select columns for filtering
  4. Use slicers to filter — no dropdown arrows needed!

❌ Limitations

  • Excel does not allow hiding filter arrows on regular ranges without removing the filter entirely.
  • VBA-based hiding only works on Excel Tables, not on ordinary filtered ranges.

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