# Excel 2007 Table Filter problems



## snelson08 (Sep 3, 2009)

I have a table set up in Excel 2007 and the filter does not work properly. In the header row I have a cell named "Name" and the people's names in that column. When I select the header row to filter the list to show an individual's name, the filter will show other names (even though they are not selected) at the bottom. When I go back into the filter and select "Select All", some of the rows at the bottom remain hidden.

Any ideas on what could be causing this?


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## WendyM (Jun 28, 2003)

Hi snelson08, welcome to TSG. 

Are there any blank rows with no names?


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## snelson08 (Sep 3, 2009)

Thank you for responding. To answer your question - No, All of the cells and rows in the table are filled. There are no blanks within the table.


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## Kallehaut (Sep 11, 2009)

I am having the same problem with a table in Excel 2007. 

I am using a lot of column functions and conditional formatting. Totally my table is spanning the area A20:FG250 (to tell something about dimensions).

I have tried to rebuild the table in a new blank spreadsheet, but the same problem occurs.

The symptoms are the same as described by snelson08. The filtering works fine for the top rows, but at some point (close to the end of the table) the filtering breaks and below this point no consistent rules apply to the filtering.

When filtering is removed some rows still remains invisible and must manually be made visible.

Making pivot tables based on this data table gives som "funny" filtering options. I can filter "values" (ie. #I/T and " ") in some columns but these values does not exist according to the data table.

Has anybody else seen this problem? And even better has anybody found a solution?


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## jcreamer22 (Sep 20, 2009)

Hi - I was having the same problem, and I found on another site where someone turned filtering off on the worksheet, then turned it back on. I just tried it and it worked great.


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## slurpee55 (Oct 20, 2004)

How large is the list you are trying to filter? At some point a huge list will overwhelm the memory Excel allots to certain tasks - I have run into it primarily when trying to make pivot tables.


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## Zack Barresse (Jul 25, 2004)

It may also (possibly) be a video problem. I've seen problems where the screen doesn't always re-paint the way it should, which to fix, after the action has occured, is generally best done by clicking another sheet and clicking back (forcing a re-paint). Any way someone can upload a sample file here? Were they ever tried on other machines?


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## snelson08 (Sep 3, 2009)

Thanks for all your suggestions. I am still running into the problem even when I have less than 50 rows of data populated. I have tried sorting the columns, than turning the filter on and off and it seems to work, but I have to do that every time I want to use the filter. Thanks everyone for your great suggestions.


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## Zack Barresse (Jul 25, 2004)

I hope you're using the keyboard shortcut (Alt + D, F, F). It makes for a lot of clicking if you're not!

But turning it on/off does actually fix the problem for you? Can you upload a sample file perhaps?


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## snelson08 (Sep 3, 2009)

I wasn't, thanks so much for the tip...that is so much faster


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## snelson08 (Sep 3, 2009)

Here is the sample file that is having the filter issues. Try selecting a single platform from the platform column. When I do that, at the bottom of the table in that column will be items other than what is selected in the filter.

Thanks again for your help.


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## Zack Barresse (Jul 25, 2004)

Ah, I see. You've found a bug! Hooray for you! LOL! Bet that news just thrills you huh. There is a workaround though. The problem is the TABLE. If you convert the table to a range it works just fine. Not sure what the problem is, or if it's been reported or not (I am checking on it). I have SP2 installed, so it at least hasn't been fixed thus far, not sure about identification.

So no, you're not crazy.


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## Zack Barresse (Jul 25, 2004)

Okay, more testing.... might not be the table. I narrowed it down to the last column. If that column is taken out, or formulas left as static values, then the filter works just fine. I am not sure why you need that column, as the formula will return the same for every cell. So for you this should be a simple fix. Doing this (taking out that column) will fix it - and you can leave your range as a table. Very interesting though. I'll do some more research on this.


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## Keebellah (Mar 27, 2008)

The strange thing is that if you copy the bottom line and add it to the list then this last line is the one that will be shown.
firts it was row 94, now it's row 95 etc.
I copied the bottom line and added it 10 time then the last one shows.
It misinterprets the last row of data and doe not include it in the filter.
I even converted the list to range.
I had to this with Excel 2003 since I don't have 2007 or 2010 available here


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## dvk01 (Dec 14, 2002)

Kelly23
I have moved your posts to their own topic http://forums.techguy.org/business-applications/1024991-filter-problems.html so it doesn't get too confusing for the helpers with bmultiplke people needing help


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