Can't Change and Re-Sort
 

I have a spreadsheet that has many columns, some of which I am trying to sort
by. One Column is called Closed Date, and is in Date Format. Another column
is called Referred Date and is in Date Format. And another is called Status
and is in General Format. I am sorting the spreadsheet first by Closed Date,
then by Referred Date, then by Status. It sorts fine. nIf I correct a date
and re-sort, it re-sorts fine. BUT, if I correct a date and a status, it
does not re-sort correctly...the changed records is at the bottom of the
spreadsheet out of the sort sequence. I just can't figure out what is
happening and why it won't re-sort. HELP!!!

Look at the closed date (the first sort key) of the row that does not sort
correctly and is now at the bottom of the table. Is it a valid date?
Select that cell and do Format - Cells - Select the Number tab. What is the
highlighted format?
If the format is not Date but it looks like a valid date, select a blank
cell and do Edit - Copy. Then again select the bad closed date cell and do
Edit - Paste Special, select Add and click OK. Now sort the table and see
if this corrects it.
Post back if this doesn't solve it for you. Provide the detail values of
the 3 entries in the row that doesn't sort correctly. HTH Otto
"Sylvia" wrote in message
...
I have a spreadsheet that has many columns, some of which I am trying to
sort
by. One Column is called Closed Date, and is in Date Format. Another
column
is called Referred Date and is in Date Format. And another is called
Status
and is in General Format. I am sorting the spreadsheet first by Closed
Date,
then by Referred Date, then by Status. It sorts fine. nIf I correct a
date
and re-sort, it re-sorts fine. BUT, if I correct a date and a status, it
does not re-sort correctly...the changed records is at the bottom of the
spreadsheet out of the sort sequence. I just can't figure out what is
happening and why it won't re-sort. HELP!!!

Just a guess, but it sounds like some of your dates are Text and some are really
Dates.

I'd format the date cells (all the columns) using the long date:
mmmm dd, yyyy

And see if there were any cells that didn't change correctly.

If you find those, then fix them (reentering the date???), then you can format
the way you like and try resorting.

Since you're doing a lot of work, you may want to do this against a copy of your
workbook/worksheet--just in case.

Or make sure you close without saving if really bad things happen.

Sylvia wrote:

I have a spreadsheet that has many columns, some of which I am trying to sort
by. One Column is called Closed Date, and is in Date Format. Another column
is called Referred Date and is in Date Format. And another is called Status
and is in General Format. I am sorting the spreadsheet first by Closed Date,
then by Referred Date, then by Status. It sorts fine. nIf I correct a date
and re-sort, it re-sorts fine. BUT, if I correct a date and a status, it
does not re-sort correctly...the changed records is at the bottom of the
spreadsheet out of the sort sequence. I just can't figure out what is
happening and why it won't re-sort. HELP!!!

--

Dave Peterson

The dates in the Complete and Referred Columns are Date Format. They sort
and and I can change a date and resort without any problem. The third Column
is Status, which is a text column. The problem is when I changed the status,
then try to resort, the changed line appears at the bottom, and out of sort.
Just to further complicate things. This is data from an Access Query that
was imported into Excel. For some reason, if the export from Access to Excel
was thru "Analyze It with Excel" or exported thru a Macro, the sort problem
occured. If I exported it using Export from the File Drop Down, it works
fine. Any thoughts???

"Dave Peterson" wrote:

Just a guess, but it sounds like some of your dates are Text and some are really
Dates.

I'd format the date cells (all the columns) using the long date:
mmmm dd, yyyy

And see if there were any cells that didn't change correctly.

If you find those, then fix them (reentering the date???), then you can format
the way you like and try resorting.

Since you're doing a lot of work, you may want to do this against a copy of your
workbook/worksheet--just in case.

Or make sure you close without saving if really bad things happen.

Sylvia wrote:

I have a spreadsheet that has many columns, some of which I am trying to sort
by. One Column is called Closed Date, and is in Date Format. Another column
is called Referred Date and is in Date Format. And another is called Status
and is in General Format. I am sorting the spreadsheet first by Closed Date,
then by Referred Date, then by Status. It sorts fine. nIf I correct a date
and re-sort, it re-sorts fine. BUT, if I correct a date and a status, it
does not re-sort correctly...the changed records is at the bottom of the
spreadsheet out of the sort sequence. I just can't figure out what is
happening and why it won't re-sort. HELP!!!

--

Dave Peterson

I don't use Access--so take this with a grain of salt.

But I'd double check to make sure the value in the cell is a real date.
(Formatting the cell as a date won't change a text value to a date value.)

=isnumber(a1)

will return True if A1 contains a date (or any number)

(Maybe someone familiar with "analyze it with excel" can jump in.)

Sylvia wrote:

The dates in the Complete and Referred Columns are Date Format. They sort
and and I can change a date and resort without any problem. The third Column
is Status, which is a text column. The problem is when I changed the status,
then try to resort, the changed line appears at the bottom, and out of sort.
Just to further complicate things. This is data from an Access Query that
was imported into Excel. For some reason, if the export from Access to Excel
was thru "Analyze It with Excel" or exported thru a Macro, the sort problem
occured. If I exported it using Export from the File Drop Down, it works
fine. Any thoughts???

"Dave Peterson" wrote:

Just a guess, but it sounds like some of your dates are Text and some are really
Dates.

I'd format the date cells (all the columns) using the long date:
mmmm dd, yyyy

And see if there were any cells that didn't change correctly.

If you find those, then fix them (reentering the date???), then you can format
the way you like and try resorting.

Since you're doing a lot of work, you may want to do this against a copy of your
workbook/worksheet--just in case.

Or make sure you close without saving if really bad things happen.

Sylvia wrote:

I have a spreadsheet that has many columns, some of which I am trying to sort
by. One Column is called Closed Date, and is in Date Format. Another column
is called Referred Date and is in Date Format. And another is called Status
and is in General Format. I am sorting the spreadsheet first by Closed Date,
then by Referred Date, then by Status. It sorts fine. nIf I correct a date
and re-sort, it re-sorts fine. BUT, if I correct a date and a status, it
does not re-sort correctly...the changed records is at the bottom of the
spreadsheet out of the sort sequence. I just can't figure out what is
happening and why it won't re-sort. HELP!!!

--

Dave Peterson


--

Dave Peterson