Part of my procedure needs to filter a list containing bookings for
rental items. each item has a code number such as '09110-' or
'09110-03'

when I perform an advanced filter on this list using a code number such
as '09110-' as the criteria I do not get the data matching the
criteria, I get very unpredictable results including codes nothing like
the criteria, if I use a code number such as '09110-03' it works fine.

It seems that the'-' at the end of the number causes the filter to not
function properly.
I have tried using auto filter and it works fine but it is not suitable
to my needs. I have also tried reformatting the cells as
text/general/number, but this did not help.

Any Ideas ????

One more thing on the subject is there a way to use a '' or '<' type
of operator in the criteria to filter rental items booked before or
after a specified date ???