Outline / group worksheet by date--are subtotals required?

[fastauntie]

I have a spreadsheet of several thousand rows that tracks events going back a number of years, the first column in each row beginning with a date (yes, I've confirmed they're all formatted as dates). For ease of reading, I'd like to be able to expand and collapse entries by year and maybe by month. Although there are numbers in some other columns, I have no need at all for any subtotals, and having them only clutters my view, so I actively do not want them. It seems to me that automatically outlining data by date in this way should be very simple to do, whether there's any subtotaling or not. I've tried a lot of different things, and looked at articles here & there for help, and am really stuck. Sometimes Excel insists on involving columns in the grouping as well. The most comprehensive articles tell me to start with subtotals, but I actively don't want them, and I don't understand why Excel can't just see a bunch of dates and automatically group them. What am I missing?

 

[Peter_SSs]

I suggest that you update your Account details (click your user name at the top right of the forum) so helpers always know what Excel version(s) & platform(s) you are using as the best solution often varies by version. (Don’t forget to scroll down & ‘Save’)

No, you do not have to have subtotals.
However, you do need to have a blank row between the 'groups'. That row is required so that when a group of rows is collapsed you can still see the "+" icon to expand that group again.
Assuming that there are currently no blank rows in column A, that the rows are sorted by date and there is a heading row, here is one way to set up grouping by year.

Sub SetUpYearGroups()
  Dim r As Long
  Dim rA As Range
  
  Application.ScreenUpdating = False
  For r = Range("A" & Rows.Count).End(xlUp).Row To 3 Step -1
    If Year(Cells(r, 1).Value) <> Year(Cells(r - 1, 1).Value) Then Rows(r).Insert
  Next r
  For Each rA In Range("A2", Range("A" & Rows.Count).End(xlUp)).SpecialCells(xlConstants).Areas
    rA.Rows.Group
  Next rA
  Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub