Problem with custom list

Question

I have created a custom list, but when I try to use it to filter entries, the list is out of order. I have no blanks in my custom list, no merged cells, and I have formatted the entries as text. What am I missing?

Answer 1

OK, you are possibly correct that part of the list is being treated as text and part as numbers.

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Since you believe that you've followed the instructions, the simplest debugging technique is for you to create a small example file. ie 1-2 dozen rows you want sorted and your custom sort list.

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Upload Example - Share via “Personal” OneDrive File

There is no way to upload example files directly to this forum.
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Trouble shooting problems using this text only forum can be like a visit to the dentist without anesthetics: a long, slow painful process of us trying to “extract” the clues needed to recognize the problem in a back and forth flow of questions and answers so that we hopefully can eventually come up with a / “the” solution.
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Often it is faster and easier for everyone if we have a “sample file” get "hands on", to look at, and to “play with”.
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This next link provides some tips on setting up a sample file and specific instructions for uploading and "sharing" it for us to access:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_other-winapps/trouble-shooting-share-onedrive-file/a231a097-bcbf-4e34-ad6c-a33118baf471?tm=1523189328156
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The above article includes links to a macros to randomize text in Word and Excel
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Note: make sure to upload to your Personal (consumer) OneDrive rather than your work OneDrive or SharePoint. Files in the Work cloud can be hard to share due to security restrictions placed by the work admins. Or use any other free storage service (anything other than business OneDrive or SharePoint).
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Another article explaining need for sharing example files:

Why a sample file is important for troubleshooting. How to do it. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/why-a-sample-file-is-important-for-troubleshooting/9441ae3c-1e92-41c6-9a1f-5b377b08e5a5
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2021 05 25- 15 Best Free Cloud Storage in 2021 – Up to 200 GB Free Storage
https://www.whizlabs.com/blog/best-free-cloud-storage/
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Answer 2

Yes, I followed the instructions regarding making and using custom lists. The custom list I created shows the choices in the order I want them, but, when I click on the filter in my Excel table, the list is out of order. The selections are of a type like this: 1, 1.1., 1.1.1, 2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, etc. I suspect the ordering that is showing up is based on the fact that one and two-digit sets look like numbers, whereas three-digit selections are not recognized as numbers. To overcome this, I tried making all entries as text, but that still didn't solve my problem. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Jim

Answer 3

I assume the custom list is in the desired order.

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Are you using the custom list to control the sort?

Have you followed instructions like these https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/sort-data-using-a-custom-list-cba3d67a-c5cb-406f-9b14-a02205834d72