A sorted list does not appear sorted (hidden characters). WYSIWYG.

Sorted1.png

The above list is sorted A - Z. It is.
Obvious to all though, it is very much not sorted.

Sorted2.png

The green is the largest sorted section, and from here down, the rest of the list (not shown here) is sorted as expected.
The orange appears to be sorted (of a sort), but why it's appearing where it is appearing.
And the blue is even more of an oddity.

Sorted3.png

So I ASCII-mapped the entries - I asked the computer to show me what I did not see. And it became clear why the computer did what it did.

I highlighted the first visible character. What's not clear is why are those preceding characters there.
And how do I remove them.

The idea is NOT to have to double check whether A-Z is actually sorted A-Z, but know that it sorted properly without my involvement.

So, what do I do with this information to assure that hidden characters are stripped and WYSIWYG is in effect?

Sheet attached.

Thank you.

The VBA text function StrConv can convert Unicode chars to Windows …

So you're all saying you cant trust everything on the internet. Who knew!

Good call on that. Yes, the source is from the net. Office Ally > Resource Center > Payer List > Professional & Institutional list, to be exact.

Taking care of hidden characters like this reminds me that no one appreciates macros except those that make macros, cause when they work it's in the blink of an eye.

Thank you. I'll check this in a moment and repost. Working on another project atm.

I changed my mind, see post #5 …