# Filter rows by values being equal in two columns **URL:** \ **Category:** Ask a question\ **Created:** [January 11, 2021, 8:37pm UTC](https://community.parabola.io/t/filter-rows-by-values-being-equal-in-two-columns/1455 "2021-01-11T20:37:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sindy\_de\_la\_Torre\_Pa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@Sindy\_de\_la\_Torre\_Pa](https://community.parabola.io/u/Sindy_de_la_Torre_Pa)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 8:37pm UTC](https://community.parabola.io/t/filter-rows-by-values-being-equal-in-two-columns/1455/1 "2021-01-11T20:37:40Z")
Hi, I am working on a volunteer data set for a non-profit. I want to keep rows in which “sign\_in\_date” is equal to the “shift date” for their volunteer job. I tried using “filter by rows”, but I have not been able to make it work with that field. Both dates have the same format. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![daniel](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.parabola.io/daniel/32/732_2.png) [@daniel](https://community.parabola.io/u/daniel)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 12:08am UTC](https://community.parabola.io/t/filter-rows-by-values-being-equal-in-two-columns/1455/2 "2021-01-12T00:08:16Z")
Hi @Sindy_de_la_Torre_Pa, Can you send an example of your `Filter rows` step settings? It should be able to filter down if the string is exactly the same in both columns. There are some instances where comparison operators don’t work well with dates. In that case, we may need to reformat your dates into something like Unix seconds. Keep me posted, and I can look into this! ---
**Author:** ![Sindy\_de\_la\_Torre\_Pa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@Sindy\_de\_la\_Torre\_Pa](https://community.parabola.io/u/Sindy_de_la_Torre_Pa)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://community.parabola.io/t/filter-rows-by-values-being-equal-in-two-columns/1455/3 "2021-01-12T14:43:47Z")
Hi Daniel, Thank you so much for reaching out! In this example all of the data is yesterday’s data so this step is actually not need it, but I need it for the weekend parabola. ![image002.jpg](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/parabola/original/2X/e/e2987e1ee6ba20c4afec2b58266537c8953379cb.jpeg) ![image003.jpg](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/parabola/original/2X/7/78e457b221c937a576ef97344f36dafb519b6dbc.jpeg) ![image004.png](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/parabola/original/2X/b/b9fa15b566bfc6998a20a8e300030bde7f660517.png) ---
**Author:** ![daniel](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.parabola.io/daniel/32/732_2.png) [@daniel](https://community.parabola.io/u/daniel)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 9:15pm UTC](https://community.parabola.io/t/filter-rows-by-values-being-equal-in-two-columns/1455/4 "2021-01-12T21:15:40Z")
Hi @Sindy_de_la_Torre_Pa, Thanks for sharing! It looks like you’re trying to pass the dynamic value of the column as the matching string. The [Filter rows](https://parabola.io/transform/filter-rows) step can only work with literal values. Instead, use the [Insert if/else column](https://parabola.io/transform/insert-if-else-column) to create a new column and fill it with a value of `Yes` if the dates are the same. ![if_else](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/parabola/original/2X/9/9f7c29e1b853f5aee6a663275b22c42ec379d512.png) You can then use a [Filter rows](https://parabola.io/transform/filter-rows) step to keep values in the `Matches?` column that are equal to `Yes`. ---
**Author:** ![Sindy\_de\_la\_Torre\_Pa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@Sindy\_de\_la\_Torre\_Pa](https://community.parabola.io/u/Sindy_de_la_Torre_Pa)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://community.parabola.io/t/filter-rows-by-values-being-equal-in-two-columns/1455/5 "2021-01-12T23:54:46Z")
Daniel, Thank you! That is a genius work around! ![image004.png](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/parabola/original/2X/b/b9fa15b566bfc6998a20a8e300030bde7f660517.png) ---
**Author:** ![brian](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.parabola.io/brian/32/11_2.png) [@brian](https://community.parabola.io/u/brian)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://community.parabola.io/t/filter-rows-by-values-being-equal-in-two-columns/1455/6 "2022-07-13T16:59:32Z")
Just wanted to follow up on this thread to say that this is now possible with the Filter Rows step! [A new an improved way to Filter Rows!](https://community.parabola.io/t/a-new-an-improved-way-to-filter-rows/2428)