Row-selection strategies?

From a list of about ten thousand rows, I need to select one row--based on the value in a column--and then do stuff with it. And I'm wondering what the best approach would be.

My first thought was to set up a calculated column that returns TRUE when it finds the item I'm looking for, sort that TRUE to the top, and then delete everything below that row.

My second though was merely to filter the column for the item and then proceed.

So, how does PQ work under the hood? If I select a row, and do a lot of work on it, does execution time vary depending on whether the other rows are "deleted" or merely hidden from view by filtering? I suspect there's no difference under the hood, because we don't have a "Remove Other Rows" or "Remove Hidden Rows" command.

Thanks.

Charley

My 2 cents answer:

Its far more work and overhead for PQ if you build a conditional formula to return TRUE for a specific value, and then sort, and then delete.
Your second suggestion is far better; simply filter for the value in question. (Must less effort!)

I don't know what PQ does under the hood but one comment i can provide based on your paragraph is that it does not "hide" the rows that do not match your filter, (unlike Excel); it remove the rows from the resulting data set.

Thanks, Rudi. That all makes sense.