Macro Fails after Filter

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 5, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

1

In testing new macros that you develop, you may find that the macro fails when it is run and the information in a worksheet is filtered. This can happen because the macro may expect that all the information in the worksheet is available, or it may try to update information that is not visible on the screen.

The best solution to this problem is to make sure that the macro turns off filtering. This can be easily done by adding the following line of code near the beginning of the macro:

ActiveWorksheet.AutoFilterMode = False

This ensures that filtering is off and removes the problems that filtered data may present for your macro. (It will, of course, result in the loss of any filtering settings, but for the purposes of many macros that may be an acceptable side effect.)

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11083) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing Print Dialog Box Defaults

Some of the built-in defaults in Word can't be changed. Often times, however, you can work around these defaults by using ...

Discover More

Finding Rows with Values in Two Columns

When you use Excel to input and store information, you need to be concerned with whether the information meets your ...

Discover More

Changing a Macro Description

Part of documenting macros is to provide a good, succinct description of what they do. Changing the description of an ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2019 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Out of Memory Errors when Accessing the VBA Editor

It can be frustrating when you get error messages doing something that you previously did with no errors. If you get an ...

Discover More

Finding the Last-Used Cell in a Macro

Ever wonder what the macro-oriented equivalent of pressing Ctrl+End is? Here's the code and some caveats on using it.

Discover More

Generating Unique Numbers for Worksheets

You may need to automatically generate unique numbers when you create new worksheets in a workbook. Here are a couple of ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 4 - 1?

2025-03-06 12:31:58

Richard R. M. W. Poynter

Should this not be "ActiveSheet.AutoFilterMode = False"? That worked for me whereas "ActiveWorksheet.AutoFilterMode = False" generated a Variable Not Defined error.

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.