Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Macro Fails after AutoFilter.
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, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Macro Fails after AutoFilter.
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2015-03-17 05:06:51
MichaelR
@Chuck Trese: thanks a lot for this code, will test now.
@balthamossa2b: thanks for your proposal, will check how this could work for me.
2015-03-17 00:48:42
Chuck Trese
MichaelR,
Here is a pair of routines I use to capture and then later restore filter settings. As you can see in the comments, I originally got this from the Excel help files.
Sorry, the formatting might be awful in this comments section, but here it is:
'used to capture (and later re-apply) AutoFilter settings
Dim FilterArray()
Dim CurrentFiltRange As String
Dim FilterState As Boolean
'
Public Sub CaptureFilterSettings()
'captures all AutoFilter settings so they can be restored later
'(this routine was copied from the MS Excel help file, with slight modifications)
FilterState = ActiveSheet.AutoFilterMode 'remember if AutoFilter was on or off.
If FilterState = True Then 'if AutoFilter was on, then capture settings.
With ActiveSheet.AutoFilter
CurrentFiltRange = .Range.Address
With .Filters
ReDim FilterArray(1 To .Count, 1 To 3)
For f = 1 To .Count
With .Item(f)
If .On Then
FilterArray(f, 1) = .Criteria1
If .Operator Then
FilterArray(f, 2) = .Operator
FilterArray(f, 3) = .Criteria2
End If
End If
End With
Next f
End With
End With
End If
End Sub
Public Sub RestoreFilterSettings()
'restores all AutoFilter settings that were captured earlier (by CaptureFilterSettings)
'(this routine was copied from the MS Excel help file, with slight modifications)
If FilterState = True Then 'if AutoFilter was on (when CaptureFilterSettings was called)
'restore previous AutoFilter settings
ActiveSheet.AutoFilterMode = False
For col = 1 To UBound(FilterArray(), 1)
If Not IsEmpty(FilterArray(col, 1)) Then
'restore filter settings for this column
If FilterArray(col, 2) Then
ActiveSheet.Range(CurrentFiltRange).AutoFilter Field:=col, _
Criteria1:=FilterArray(col, 1), _
Operator:=FilterArray(col, 2), _
Criteria2:=FilterArray(col, 3)
Else
ActiveSheet.Range(CurrentFiltRange).AutoFilter Field:=col, _
Criteria1:=FilterArray(col, 1)
End If
End If
Next
If ActiveSheet.AutoFilterMode = False Then 'if AutoFilter is still off (because no filters were set), then
ActiveSheet.Range(CurrentFiltRange).AutoFilter 'turn AutoFilter back on anyway (even though no filters are set)
End If
End If 'filterState = True (i.e., AutoFilter was on)
End Sub
I think I wrote this when I was using Excel 2007. However, I am now using it on Excel 2010 with no problems.
2015-03-16 12:35:00
To avoid filtering troubles just do the filtering yourself through a macro, with
Range.EntireRow.Hide
That way the filtered rows are still readable by the macro.
2015-03-16 03:55:19
MichaelR
Quite rightly you said "... It will, of course, result in the loss of any filtering settings, ..."
Wouldn't it be great if there was a piece of code that could re-instate the original filter settings as last step of a macro?
Any idea how to do that?
2015-03-14 16:55:57
Marcel Kollenaar
I had the same issue when I opened a workbook and needed the data on a sheet with an active filter. I found out that if I use ".usedrange" I got the raw data without filter.
In this case you do not alter filter settings. However, your range may be greater than the data you expect.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: 
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