Excel shows everyone my filters in a shared doc, even when using temporary view

Question

My company uses a lot of shared docs with many collaborators working in the sheet at once. When I open a doc, I open a temporary view, and then apply my filters. I've had people report on several occasions that the sheet is showing them my filters, and I've had several occasions where someone else changes the filters for themselves, and it changes them for me as well. To reiterate once more I AM using a temporary view so my filters should not affect others, but they do.

Answer 1

Hi @Rain Owens,

I understand your frustration when your personal filters, which should be only available in your personal view only, are applied to your teammates or when someone's view changes yours. This is really disruptive and cause negative impact to your experience and even work efficiency.

Based on your sharing, there are occasions that the sheet shows filters to others and viceversa, others' filters show up in your view. Therefore, this is highly an issue that the Temporary view is accidentally bumped out and drop you or other co-workers back into the Default view and when that happened, the filters are applied to other parties too. However, there are many situations that can cause the Temporary view accidentally switching back to Normal:

• If someone opens a local copy or an unsupported client/version, Excel may fall back to the Default view and standard shared filtering behavior.
• Files in compatibility mode, certain protection settings, or when co‑authoring isn’t active can make Sheet View unavailable. When that happens, the app reverts to Default/Normal behavior.
• During filter collisions, Excel may show “See mine” vs “See others.” If your co-workers accidently choose See others, it can switch to another person’s current view
• A Temporary View is, by design, not saved unless you click Keep (and name it). After closing and reopening the file, you may be switched back to Normal View.
• There is also a situation that reported that when multiple desktop users create or change Sheet Views simultaneously, the Normal view can flip in ways that make it look like your private view was dropped.

Therefore, for a stable workaround to prevent this issue from occurring again, I suggest using a personal named view instead of a default Temporary view:

• Saved view with a name has higher consistency and you can select it each time before filtering.
• Less likely to see the “See mine / See others” prompt when everyone works in their own saved view
• Saved views are available in both the desktop app and Excel for the web, so it can help avoid possible platform conflicts.

Hope my sharing may help resolve your concern. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.    

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. I'm looking forward to your reply.

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Answer 2

In shared Excel workbooks, filters only stay private when they are applied inside a Sheet View. If filters are applied in the default view, they affect everyone else in the workbook.

Key points from Sheet View behavior:

1. Sheet View must be active before filtering
   • A Sheet View is created by selecting View > Sheet View > New on the worksheet, then applying sorts/filters.
   • Excel initially names this Temporary View until it is renamed and saved.
   • Only sorts/filters applied while that Sheet View is active are isolated from other users.
2. Actions in default view affect all users
   • If filters or sorts are applied while not in a Sheet View (i.e., in the default view), those changes impact everyone coauthoring the workbook.
   • This includes cases where a Sheet View is not actually active, or has been exited, even if it was created earlier.
3. Storage location and platform requirements
   • Sheet Views only work when the workbook is stored in SharePoint or OneDrive.
   • Sheet Views are supported in Excel for Microsoft 365 and Excel 2021 and later. If a local copy is opened or saved outside SharePoint/OneDrive, Sheet Views are unavailable and filters revert to shared behavior.
4. Verifying that a Sheet View is really in use
   • Ensure the Sheet View dropdown on the View tab shows Temporary View (or the name of a saved view), not “Default”.
   • If the Sheet View options appear grayed out, the file is not in a supported location or version, and any filters will be global.
5. Hiding columns/rows vs. filters
   • Hiding or displaying columns/rows in default view persists across all Sheet Views on Excel for Desktop/Mac and Excel for the web.
   • To keep such changes private, they must be done while a Sheet View is active.

Given the symptoms, the most likely causes are:

• Filters are sometimes being applied while the workbook is in default view instead of an active Sheet View, or
• The file is occasionally opened/edited from a location or client where Sheet Views are unavailable (local copy, unsupported version), so filters become shared.

To prevent others from seeing filters:

1. Confirm the workbook is stored in SharePoint or OneDrive.
2. On each session, immediately go to View > Sheet View > New and confirm the Sheet View name (e.g., Temporary View) is shown as active before applying any filters.
3. Optionally rename and save the Sheet View so it is clear when it is active.
4. Avoid applying filters or hiding columns/rows in default view when multiple people are working in the file.

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References:

• Create and manage Sheet Views in Excel