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If I have a column with values, and I want to find out what distinct values are in there (not how many - but the actual distinct values), how can I do that?

In SQL Server I would do something like 

SELECT Distinct(MyColumn) FROM MyTable
Kjensen
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  • Related: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13307927/ignore-duplicates-and-create-new-list-of-unique-values-in-excel – alexanderbird Nov 17 '15 at 23:54
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    Since fall 2018, this can now be done **much easier** using the `UNIQUE()` function (at least if you use Office 365). https://stackoverflow.com/a/63073902/12418842 – Michael Wycisk Aug 05 '20 at 13:02

7 Answers7

361

Simpler than you might think:

  • Click the Data Ribbon Menu
  • Select the Advanced Button in the Sort & Filter section
  • Fill in the dialog Box, copying the results to another location and making sure you tick Unique records only

enter image description here

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A Dwarf
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    For those of us still living a ribbon-free existence, it's Data->Filter->Advanced. – J.T. Grimes Oct 01 '09 at 16:39
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    +1 This method is superior to Remove Duplicates if you want to keep the original data intact. – Excellll Jul 13 '12 at 00:58
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    If copying data to another sheet, you must initiate the Advanced dialog _from the sheet you want to copy to_, otherwise you get a `You can only copy filtered data to the active sheet` error. – Dave Zych Jan 23 '15 at 17:08
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    This doesn't update when the source range values change. Is there any way to make it dynamic? – hughes Apr 27 '16 at 21:24
139

Excel 2007 and 2010:
Use the Remove Duplicates menu option under the Data header.

Excel 2003:
Easy way:

  1. Make sure your data has a header
  2. Data --> Filter --> Advanced Filter
  3. Check Unique Records Only
  4. Select Copy to another location
  5. Click OK

Hard way:

Write a macro with the following code: 

'Remove duplicates from sorted list
Sub getDistinct()
    Do While ActiveCell.Value <> ""
        If ActiveCell.Value = ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Value Then
            ActiveCell.Select
            Selection.Delete Shift:=xlUp
        Else
            ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Activate
        End If
    Loop
End Sub

That gives you your distinct list. You may want to copy your list to another sheet first.

HK boy
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Nathan DeWitt
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27

Or (a simple crude way):

In B1,

=IF(COUNTIF(A$1:A1,A1)=1,A1,"")

and copy down. It just copies the first occurrence of each value across (in the row that it occurs in).

slhck
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Tapgas
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25

I use two main methods to get distinct values - the first is the invaluable Remove Duplicates tool as suggested by Nathan DeWitt.

The downside to Remove Duplicates is that you lose data. Despite the power of Ctrl+z you may not wish to do this for various reasons - eg you may have filters currently selected that make it quite messy to remove duplicates to get your distinct list of values.

The other method, not mentioned above is to use a Pivot Table.

Let's say this is your table and you want to get the distinct list of Platforms. dummy table

Insert a Pivot Table with the table as your data source.

Now select the Platform(s) column as your Row Labels.

Voila! A list of distinct values.

pivot table as distinct value list

If you wish to tidy this up, you can switch off Field Headers and set Grand Totals to be Off for Rows and Columns.

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Andi Mohr
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6

Or you can include the filter option in a macro

    Columns("A:A").AdvancedFilter Action:=xlFilterInPlace, Unique:=True
cjcottell
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5

For me, the most simple way to sort is to use "Filter" option.

First step is to find the duplicate values with Conditional Formatting -> Highlight Cells Rules -> Duplicate Values.

Then click the arrow on the Column you have the duplicates (in this case "Platforms") -> Filter by Color (Cells color or font color).

Just Me
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    The outcome here is different, as _all_ instances of duplicates are removed. E.g. the column with values `[a, a, b]` should reduce to `[a, b]`, not `[b]`. – Hugo Ideler Feb 13 '18 at 10:13
  • @HugoIdeler, "all instances of duplicates are removed", exactly what I am needing! – Nathan Goings Feb 19 '20 at 20:48
1

In Excel 365 we now have UNIQUE(), which returns an array of unique rows.

Tim Galvin
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  • Thanks - I had not noticed this function appear. Could you expand your answer to explain how to use `UNIQUE()` please so anybody unfamiliar with Excel can apply this? – Andi Mohr Sep 02 '21 at 11:13