1st row not always recognized as header row when sorting

[Roger]

why does excel sometimes not recognize the first row as a
header row when sorting. This problem prevents me from
using the sort buttons on the tool bar.

 

[Guest]

If you format your first row as a "text" cell then the
problem should be resolved.

 

[jpx]

In the Sort dialog box click on My List has a Header row.

 

[Dave Peterson]

Just my opinion. I try to only use those icons to sort my data when my data
consists of exactly one column.

xl2002 got smarter and displayed a prompt saying that there is data in adjacent
cells. But in xl2k and previous, it's really too easy to completely screw up
your data.

 

[David McRitchie]

I never seem to get consistent resolutions from Excel automatically
determining if there is a header row. It is supposed to pick up on
formatting and I've made first row and column bold to cover that,
but I will try Text to see if that helps.

I avoid the sort icons on the toolbar but if you want to sort on
one column and have the row content go along with the sorted
column you can use the following sequence.
Select a cell in the column to be sorted on
use Ctrl+A (select all), which select all cells on the worksheet
but leave your currently selected active cell as the active cell.
Then use the Sort button.

You can read more about sorting at:
Sorting, Some notes on sorting in Excel Location:
http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/sorting.htm