data-auto filter not working properly?

[Brad]

I've got a worksheet that has a column of dates (eg. 24-Jan-07) they are
different days, different months and different years with some
repeating.There are over 47000 rows so I have a lot of data. I am trying to
auto-filter this column but when I click on the down arrow it doesn't list
ALL of the possible dates that are available. Also, when I do a "custom"
filter for information I know is there (eg. ends with "07") it doesn't pull
any information at all yet the worksheet page shows it's located at the
first row below the last available row of data (eg. I have 47802 rows it
says it's at row 47803 after running the custom filter) I can't scroll up to
view any rows above that line until I undo the "auto filter" settings I've
chosen (puzzled on that). It appears my "data-auto filter" and /or "custom
filtering" isn't working properly. Is there a know issue with this? I've
never had this problem before. Brad

 

[Roger Govier]

Hi Brad

Autofilter will only show the first 1000 filtered rows.
Debra Dalgleish has some workarounds on her site at
http://www.contextures.com/xlautofilter02.html#Limits

 

[Brad]

Obviously that's one of excels weak points. Why can't I get the "custom"
filter to work?
I've done custom filters on the information that's in the drop down list
and still I get nothing.

 

[Roger Govier]

Hi Brad

What Custom filter are you trying to apply?
What is the type of data ( a few examples) that is contained within that
column?

 

[Brad]

my dates are all dd-mmm-yy (24-Jan-07).21-Dec-01
24-Jan-07
14-Apr-03
The above are "pasted" examples. I've tried custom filters eg;
"contains" Jan, *Jan* (I've also tried other months)
"ends with" 07 *-07 (Ive tried other years)
When I try these custom filters the filter runs and then gives me an empty
screen with "0 of xxxxx records found" down below in status line and the
first line of the worksheet is the first line below the last line of
available information eg. "if my whole worksheet is 40325 rows long then the
filtered results shows the first line at 40326 without any data. I can't
scroll up any further in the worksheet until AFTER I remove the filtering
information or select "All" from the drop down. (I can scroll down but not
up).
Thanks,
Brad

 

[Brad]

Roger,

I was experimenting and it seems strange, I can ask for the opposite of what
I want "does not "end with or contain" and it will return with the whole
worksheet 50307 of 50307 records found but if I do an "ends with" or
"contains" I don't get any data 0 of 50307 records found.
Regards,
Brad

 

[Roger Govier]

Hi Brad

The dates are all serial numbers, so they won't contain text like Jan.
Today, 25 Jan 07 will be stored as 39107 and displayed as whatever
format has been selected 25-Jan-07,
or 25 January 2007 or 25/12/07
Try
Greater than or equal 01/01/06
and
Less than or equal 31/12/06

 

[Brad]

Thanks Roger,
Since my post I kept playing and discovered what your saying did work. I
just didn't understand why the other options wouldn't. How does one know how
the information is being stored, dates as serial numbers? When trying to do
something quick and simple / easy you would think the drop down menu options
would work.

Brad

 

[Roger Govier]

Hi Brad

As I said, Excel stores dates as a serial number - that is why we can
carry out all sorts of date and interval calculations.
Formatting allows us to display that serial number in whatever format we
like.
The TEXT() function allows us to manipulate the data and would allow a
textual comparison e.g.
With 26/01/2007 in A1 and the text of Jan in B1 we could say

=TEXT(A1,"mmm")=B1
and it would return TRUE
If we changed B1 to say Feb, then it would return FALSE
If we used
=TEXT(A1,"mmmm") that would give January as the result
=TEXT(A1,"mmmm yy") would give January 07 as the result
so these are the ways that you can look for a Text comparison, not that
these options are available to you in Autofilter.
However, if you added a column to your source data, with the formula
=TEXT(A1,"mmm") and copied down
then you could filter on that column for Jan, Feb etc. as they would be
the options that would appear on the dropdown.

I hope this helps your understanding.

Probably no consolation to you, but the options for selection with
Autofilter are vastly improved in XL2007.

 

[Brad]

Roger,
It was just frustrating at the time, when trying to make something work and
it doesn't.
I really appreciate you time, advise and explaination because YOU didn't
have to.
Have a great day
Brad

 

[Roger Govier]

Hi Brad

You're very welcome and thanks for the feedback.