Filter button under Table Design tab is disabled for some tables in same worksheet - how do I fix this?

Question

Hello,

This evening I was surprised to see the "Filter Button" option disabled... for some Excel tables in the same worksheet. The filter button appears under the Table Style Options group under the Table Design tab in Excel. Strangely, the filter button under the Data tab's Sort & Filter group is enabled, regardless of what Excel table I select.

How do I fix this problem? Why does this button become disabled in the first place?

I am using the latest version of Excel 365 in the latest version of Windows 10.

Screenshot 1: Disabled filter button

Screenshot 2: Enabled filter button

Sincerely,

Rupertsland,

Canada

Answer 1

Hi William,

Thank you for your reply and suggestions to fix this issue.

• Worksheet protection: there was no protection.
• Worksheet group selection: no worksheets were selected.
• Partial table data: as clearly shown in the screenshots I provided, there was no partial table data.
• External data source: there are none in my workbook.

Your suggestion to fix the issue by converting the table to a range and then back to a table works.

However, I found an alternative approach without requiring table conversion.

I turned on the filter for each table using the filter button under the Data tab. Then I went back to the Table Design tab and unchecked the filter button for each table. This seemed to resolve the problem. I was able to go back to those tables this morning, and the filter button under the Table Design tab remained enabled.

Answer 2

Hello rupertsland,

It's nice to hear that you've found an alternative way for your issue. This is very valuable for both of us. I appreciate your sharing and perhaps next time when I meet a similar issue, I'll quote this approach under it and add a note: From our keen volunteer Rupertsland. XD

BTW, let's give something back to our community. You can help the next person who has this problem by pointing out if this answer solved your problem. Click Yes or No below.

Best Wishes

William Yu

Answer 3

Hello rupersland,

Got your reply. I completely understand your opinion and needs for this feature. Yesterday we've made some efforts to collect enough essential user feedback to report this issue as a bug to Microsoft. Although we do have some internal channels to send bug reports directly, you know, if there had not been enough supporting cases, Microsoft would be hard to make any effective improvements on this issue. So, for now, we will continue working on this process.

Microsoft values every customer's feedback and cares every user's experience with Microsoft products. Don't worry, we will get you informed of the latest news on this issue once updated.

Sincerely thank you for your altruistic sharing and continuing support on Microsoft products.

Regards,

William

Answer 4

Hello rupertsland,

Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

I understand your issues with the Filter Button feature in Excel. The "Filter Button" under the Table Design tab in Excel can be disabled due to several reasons:

Worksheet Protection: If the worksheet is protected, it can prevent it from being sorted or filtered. You can unprotect the worksheet to resolve this issue.

Worksheet Group Selection: If multiple worksheets are selected (a 'worksheet group'), sorting and filtering options become unavailable. You can fix this by selecting a single worksheet.

Partial Table Data: If you try to sort a range of cells that are partially within a table and partially outside a table, the Sort and Filter options become disabled². You can remove the Table by clicking the Table Tools > Design > Convert to Range button on the Ribbon.

External Data Source: If the data originates from an external data source that Excel cannot sort, you may need to copy it and paste it as Values before you can sort it.

To fix the issue, you can try converting the table to a range and then back to a table. Here are the steps:

1. Click anywhere in the table.
2. Go to the Table Design tab.
3. Click Convert to Range.
4. Now select your range.
5. Press CTRL+T and click OK.

This will convert the structured table to a range and then back into a structured table, which should enable your filter again.

Note - You will have to write your formulas using structured references again.

I hope you find the above information helpful. If you need any further assistance, please let me know and I'll provide more advice.

Best Regards,

William Yu | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 5

This could be a bug in Excel

I only want to add here that although I've marked this as an "answer", both methods are merely a temporary workaround.

That said, this issue still suggests to me this might possibly be a bug in Excel. I've seen the same problem over the past week on different workstations with Excel. After creating a blank new table, the filter button still remains disabled under the Table Design tab, until one turns on the filter under the Data tab. The behaviour is not always consistent. Sometimes, the filter button under the Table Design tab is enabled.

In previous years, I have not observed this phenomenon in Excel. It appears to be fairly recent, occurring within the past month or so. If anyone else noticed this problem prior to 2024, please post here.

If this is indeed a bug, us users should report this to Microsoft.

Rupertsland,

Canada