I checked the format of the "errant" cells and it shows Number too.

In future, how will I know that there's an "underlying" text format if I
can't see it in the FormatCell menu? It so happens I noticed the problem in
this spreadsheet, which is also a small file.

BTW, I did the pasteSpecial Add and my column is sorting correctly now.
Can you please explain what this "Add" operation does?

Many thanks.

"RWN" wrote:

I expect that when I select my whole column and format cells to Number, that
all the selected cells WILL have the format: Number.

Not necessarily. If a text value is already present then selecting the cell and changing
the format won't have any effect (try it).
To force the format to a number, select a blank cell and copy it. Then select the range
where you require the format to be numeric and "PasteSpecial-Add".


--
Regards;
Rob
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Melissa" wrote in message
...
I expect that when I select my whole column and format cells to Number, that
all the selected cells WILL have the format: Number.

In response to your question on breaks, my spreadsheet does not contain any
empty rows although somes cells may be blank.

I selected all the relevant rows and columns before applying auto-filter.

A bit more info on this column that I am sorting: this column contains
numbers 1-40 plus some blank cells.

"RWN" wrote:

Are you absolutely sure of the format? Sounds like the errant values are text.

Also, are the rows contiguous (i.e. no breaks)? If there is an empty row and you click
sort it will select the current region which is determined by where xl finds blank
rows
and columns.
To be sure, select the values and then sort.

HTH
--
Regards;
Rob
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Melissa" wrote in message
...
I have a column containing numbers 1-40. I made sure the format of these
cells is "Number" then I sorted my spreadsheet in ascending order. The
strange thing is, the order is correct except that 19, 35, 36, 38, 39 appear
after 40. Why is this happening?