Why do blank lines appear after multi-level sorting? - excel

Question

I have a macro that sorts by color, then by date, then again by date.
If I delete a date, instead of just re-sorting, it re sorts and then leaves blank rows where the row from which a date was deleted used to be. I tried adding another sort layer where I sort by color RGB(0,0,0).
Why are the blank rows sitting there?
How do I remove them or make them not appear at all?
If Not Intersect(Target, Range("A:C")) Is Nothing Then
MsgBox ("sorting")
ActiveSheet.Sort.SortFields.Clear
ActiveSheet.Sort.SortFields.Add(Range("C:C"), _
xlSortOnCellColor, _
xlDescending, _
, _
xlSortNormal).SortOnValue.Color = RGB(146, 208, 80)
ActiveSheet.Sort.SortFields.Add2 Key:=Range("C:C"), _
SortOn:=xlSortOnValues, _
Order:=xlDescending, _
DataOption:=xlSortNormal
ActiveSheet.Sort.SortFields.Add2 Key:=Range("B:B"), _
SortOn:=xlSortOnValues, _
Order:=xlDescending, _
DataOption:=xlSortNormal
ActiveSheet.Sort.SortFields.Add2(Range("C:C"), _
xlSortOnCellColor, _
xlDescending, _
, _
xlSortNormal).SortOnValue.Color = RGB(255, 255, 255)
With ActiveSheet.Sort
.SetRange Range("A:C")
.Header = xlYes
.MatchCase = False
.Orientation = xlTopToBottom
.SortMethod = xlPinYin
.Apply
End With
End If

Answer 1

I believe I might have an answers to your questions, atleast for the second one I am sure...
Why are the blank rows sitting there?
I can be only guessing since I do not have your source file to check for any irregularities nor your whole macro. If I had to guess, I would say it is either some function in your macro what is causing this or it might also be an issue of how you define sort ranges. You only specify columns and not actual starting cells and also no ending cells. The way I am used to sort data is to dynamically define the exact range.
How do I remove them or make them not appear at all?
Please try the code which I have adjusted based on your data and code you provided:
If Not Intersect(Target, Range("A:C")) Is Nothing Then
MsgBox ("sorting")
With ActiveWorkbook.ActiveSheet
lastRow = .Cells(.Rows.Count, "A").End(xlUp).Row '<-- get last row of data in column "A"
.Sort.SortFields.Clear
.Sort.SortFields.Add(Range("C1:C" & lastRow), _
xlSortOnCellColor, xlDescending, , xlSortNormal).SortOnValue.Color = RGB(146, 208, 80)
.Sort.SortFields.Add Key:=.Range("B1:B" & lastRow), _
SortOn:=xlSortOnValues, Order:=xlDescending, DataOption:=xlSortNormal
.Sort.SortFields.Add Key:=.Range("C1:C" & lastRow), _
SortOn:=xlSortOnValues, Order:=xlDescending, DataOption:=xlSortNormal
.Sort.SortFields.Add(Range("C1:C" & lastRow), _
SortOn:=xlSortOnCellColor, Order:=xlDescending, DataOption:=xlSortNormal).SortOnValue.Color = RGB(255, 255, 255)
With .Sort
.SetRange Range("A1:C" & lastRow)
.Header = xlYes
.MatchCase = False
.Orientation = xlTopToBottom
.SortMethod = xlPinYin
.Apply
End With
End With
End If
The main adjustment is declaration of lastRow which adjusts the bottom of the data range (in your situation it should not matter but you might sometimes encounter data where you want to sort until certain row and this will be very helpful. Also lastRow as defined here is very helpful for a whole lot of other macros and helps to set ranges dynamically).
And I have also added the start the data as you can see in Range("C1:C" & lastRow)
I have tested this on a sample data you have provided and it worked as expected. I hope it will work for you exactly as you wanted to.