---
title: "Use the EXCLUDE Modifier Function to Exclude Data by Cell or Item"
slug: "exclude-modifier"
description: "Learn to use Pigment’s EXCLUDE modifier to refine data sets by excluding Items or cell values in your Blocks."
updated: 2025-05-30T09:37:02Z
published: 2025-08-22T12:00:18Z
---
> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.pigment.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# EXCLUDE modifier
## Description
Excludes data from a Block based on cell values or associated items.
## Syntax
```plaintext
expression[EXCLUDE: filtering_expression]
```
**Filtering_expession** being a boolean expression.
## Return type
`same as source object`
## Examples
| **Case** | **Results** |
| --- | --- |
| **Filtering off of Multiple Conditions** |
| `Revenue[EXCLUDE: Country = Country."FR" AND Product = Product."Product 1"]` | Returns the `Revenue` of any country but France for any product but Product 1 |
| `Revenue[EXCLUDE: Country = Country."FR" OR Country = Country."UK"]` | Returns the `Revenue` of any country but France and UK. |
| **Filtering off of defined values** |
| `Revenue[EXCLUDE: CurrentValue > 1000]` or `Revenue[EXCLUDE: Revenue > 1000]` | Returns the `Revenue` by its original Dimensions only if the `Revenue` is equal to or lower than 1000 or blank. |
| `Revenue[EXCLUDE: Cost > 1000]` | Returns the `Revenue` by its original Dimensions only if the `Cost` is equal to or lower than 1000 or blank. |
| **Filtering off of data in another Metric** |
| `Revenue[EXCLUDE: 'Filter Metric']` | Returns the `Revenue` by its original Dimensions only if the boolean `Filter Metric` is set to false or blank. |
**Excel equivalent**: none
## Filtering on values with “CurrentValue”
Filtering based on the values of the “expression” is a common use case. The simplest way of doing it is to duplicate the expression in the filtering expression.
ex: `Revenue[EXCLUDE: Revenue > 1000]`
However, sometimes the expression filtered can be long. ex:
`(‘Bloc A’ + ‘Bloc B’ + ‘Bloc C’ - ‘Bloc D’)[EXCLUDE: (‘Bloc A’ + ‘Bloc B’ + ‘Bloc C’ - ‘Bloc D’) > 1000]`
Pigment offers a specific keyword: `CurrentValue`. This keyword represents the expression on which the filter is applied, but in a much shorter and readable way, avoiding also copy-paste mistakes.
The previous formula can be written:
`(‘Bloc A’ + ‘Bloc B’ + ‘Bloc C’ - ‘Bloc D’)[EXCLUDE: CurrentValue > 1000]`
### When to use EXCLUDE vs [FILTER](/v1/docs/filter-modifier)
The FILTER and EXCLUDE modifiers have very similar functionalities just an opposite approach. When using FILTER you are defining which data to bring, while EXCLUDE you are defining which data not to bring in.
`[FILTER: NOT condition OR ISBLANK(condition)] `is the same as `[EXCLUDE: condition]`
The difference is how they handle Blanks. Given the scenario above, it is recommended to use EXCLUDE for readability and performance issues.
**See also**: [BY](/v1/docs/by-modifier), [ADD](/v1/docs/add-modifier), [REMOVE](/v1/docs/remove-modifier), [FILTER](/v1/docs/filter-modifier)
> [!NOTE]
> To learn more about the [EXCLUDE Modifier](https://academy.gopigment.com/filter-exclude-modifiers), explore the FILTER & EXCLUDE Modifiers module in our Academy.
> [!TIP]
> More of a hands-on learner?
>
> Talk to your Customer Success Manager about downloading the Functions and Modifiers in Pigment Application into your workspace. It includes examples of every Function and Modifier in Pigment!