Why did a design filter in Access just disappear?

Dave 20 Reputation points
2025-11-06T22:50:51.1766667+00:00

I have had a data filter setup under advanced filter/sort for years now. Always there and worked well. Now access is saying it can't find that filter. Why? What happened and how can it be restored?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Access | For home | Windows
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  1. Karl Donaubauer 2,696 Reputation points MVP
    2025-11-12T15:25:57.2933333+00:00

    Hi,

    I reported the problem to the Microsoft Access team. They identified it as a current bug that will be fixed soon. Meanwhile the workaround to get the normal filter functionality is to disable Monaco:

    File > Options > Current Database > Uncheck the box at Enable Monaco SQL Editor

    Servus
    Karl

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  1. Gabriel-N 9,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-11-07T00:56:29.7466667+00:00

    Hello Dave

    Thank you for posting your question on the Q&A Forum.

    Based on my research, your issue may be related to a behavior reported by other users where they simply try to use the Advanced Filter/Sort on a form, but the Toggle Filter option is unavailable or greyed out.

    If this matches your scenario, you can try switching to a query-based report by creating a query with your desired filter criteria and using it as the record source for your report. Another option is to use VBA to open the report with a filter, which allows you to apply filters programmatically when opening the report.

    If you’re working with a large dataset, go to File > Options > Current Database, scroll to Filter Lookup Options, and increase the record threshold (for example, from 1000 to 20000) to ensure filters display correctly. Some users have also resolved this issue by reverting to Microsoft Office 365 Version 2412 (Build 18324.20168), released on January 7, 2025.

    For more details, please refer to this thread: Unable to filter reports in Microsoft Access database

    If this applies to your case and you’re not familiar with VBA, please comment with the details of the filter you want to apply, the more specific, the better. I’ll try my best to help you.

    If this doesn’t apply to your case, please capture a screenshot of the error.

    If possible, please share the file so I can get better insight. If you're concerned about privacy, just comment and I’ll send you a private message with instructions on how to send the file securely.

    Looking forward to helping you further!


    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread. 


  2. George Hepworth 22,220 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2025-11-10T21:58:52.0866667+00:00

    Can you provide a repo database for review?

    If so, remove any sensitive or personally identifying information and upload it to a sharing site (OneDrive, DropBox, etc.)

    Also, we need to know the version and build of Access you are using.

    Thank you.


  3. George Hepworth 22,220 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2025-11-12T17:56:22.6633333+00:00

    The problem has been reported the problem to the Microsoft Access team.

    They identified it as a current bug that will be fixed soon.

    Meanwhile the workaround to get the normal filter functionality is to disable Monaco:

    File > Options > Current Database > Uncheck the box at Enable Monaco SQL Editor

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  4. George Hepworth 22,220 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2025-11-12T21:53:50.2466667+00:00

    We have been informed by Microsoft that a change was made to address this problem for Current Channel.

    If you are in Current Channel, you only have to restart Access and the problem should be resolved.

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