# Error while using metadata-based filtering **URL:** https://forum.qiime2.org/t/error-while-using-metadata-based-filtering/3476 **Category:** User Support **Created:** [March 19, 2018, 2:35pm UTC](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/error-while-using-metadata-based-filtering/3476 "2018-03-19T14:35:42Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Showing post:** 8
### Author: ![ebolyen](https://forum.qiime2.org/user_avatar/forum.qiime2.org/ebolyen/32/11_2.png) [@ebolyen](https://forum.qiime2.org/u/ebolyen) #### Post date: [March 22, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/error-while-using-metadata-based-filtering/3476/8 "2018-03-22T20:47:47Z")
Hey @kspeer, If you were to run `qiime metadata tabulate` on `taxonomy_unfiltered.qza ` do you still see the offending entry? I suspect it will look like this instead: `k __Bacteria;p__ Bacteroidetes` If I'm remembering correctly, `taxa barplot` pads out the taxonomy strings to make rendering simpler. In other words `k __Bacteria;p__ Bacteroidetes; __;__ ; __;__ ` is just a side-effect of trying to make the depth match everything else, it's still really `k __Bacteria;p__ Bacteroidetes`. However if you saw `k __Bacteria;p__ Bacteroidetes;c __;o__ ;f __;g__ ` (with the prefixes) then that would mean there's a un-named Greengenes OTU with that taxonomic resolution. Also, unrelated to what I think is happening, there's another issue with your command. If we compare your search string to the list we see that they are not _exactly_ the same: ```plaintext k __Bacteria;p__ Bacteroidetes; __;__ ; __;__ # Your list k __Bacteria; p__ Bacteroidetes; __;__ ; __;__ # Your --p-exclude ``` In particular it looks like your query has spaces in it which the computer considers as different. If I'm remembering correctly about the behavior of `taxa barplot` your `--p-exclude` should look more like: `--p-exclude 'k __Bacteria;p__ Bacteroidetes'`. Hope that helps! --- _[View the full topic](https://forum.qiime2.org/t/error-while-using-metadata-based-filtering/3476)._