Using a "Find" based function instead of "Aut

[Err]

My problem is that I work as a data manager at a bear meat factory*. We use a numeric code which refers to the tenderness of each bears flesh and prior to harvest -I often have to sort that data based on the numeric code.


Excel has issues with screening numbers in Autofilter. You can not filter "begins with" or "ends with" if the data is numeric. For Example:







This same problem does not exist in "Find"





Since I seem to be relying on Autofilter for my queries, and it is possible to create a function similar to autofilter using the properly working "find" feature -I was wondering if anyone had already written a function that returns a range and functions similarly to autofilter?

*My job is really more boring and No bears were hurt in the writing of this post.

 

[Oaktree]

Select your Bear Code column, go to data --> text to columns, click next, click next again, choose the option button for Text, and click finish.

That converts your Bear Codes to text values, and you should be able to use "begins with" to filter your Bear Codes.

I understand your frustration with this; but IMO, it's better habit to store ID numbers (or Bear Codes) as Text anyway (whether you're in Excel, SQL, Access, SAS, or whatever poison you prefer). That way, you won't accidentally add them together in merges, pivot tables, or other aggregation methods.

 

[Err]

Even formatted as text, (I've tried this) -if it contains all numbers there are intermittent problems with excel autofilter.