Filters are used to help you develop your report with the exact information that you require. You select a filter by clicking on the required field and dragging it to the orange Filter panel. When the field is dropped a pop up screen will appear for you to specify the filter details, the type of field that you have selected as a filter will establish what fields are displayed in the pop up.
Once you have specified your filter information then press the orange [Save] button and the Reporting screen will update accordingly.
If you press [Cancel] in the pop up then the pop up will close and the field you have dragged to the Filter panel will be removed.
Fig 1 - Placing a Filter
Adding, Editing and Removing Filters
You can use as many filters as you require, just drag and drop the fields into the Filter panel and update accordingly, more information about using multiple filters is detailed below.
After you have placed a filter and saved its values the information will appear at the top of the preview panel. If you need to edit the filter values, the click on the cog icon in the field, the pop up will appear again for you to make the adjustments. The Edit icon (pencil) will allow you to rename a filter if required.
If you wish to remove a filter then click on the X and it will be removed from the Filter panel.
Fig 2 Editing and Removing filters
The filters that you have added can be viewed in the report preview panel, if you adjust or change you filters the corresponding filter text will also update.
Allow Filter Edit
On each filter that is displayed there is an option to 'Allow edit when the report is run' if you tick this option it means that whatever parameter you enter for the filter can be adjusted each time that you run the report. For example you could set a Start date Filter for 'This Year' for the report but if you tick the allow edit option then when you run the report in the Run Report screen the filter can be changed for that one run of the report, so you could change the filter from 'This Year' to 'Last Year'.
The default filters will always be presented when the report is ran, if these require change then you must Edit the report and adjust the default filters.
The below examples are using the Contract Data Set but the filters can be used for each data set available within the Reporting feature.
Text Fields
Text filters are used when you need to filter records using a specific text value. When you select a text field as a filter then the below pop up will be displayed.
By clicking in the first field you will be given a list of options to choose from such as 'Contains', the next field is where you enter the specific text, this can be a full or partial word.
The 'Empty' and 'Is not Empty' options allows you to filter records where there may or may not be any values within the field, this can be used to help you find or filter out records where there may be missing information.
Fig 3 - Text Filter
The above filter will find all records where a Contracts Title contains a text value of 'Sec'
Date Fields
Date filters are used when you need to filter records using a specific date or date groupings. If a date field has been selected as a filter then the Date filter pop up screen will appear. This screen gives you 4 options to choose from to allow you to create a general or specific date filter. The 4 options are:
Specific Date - this option will allow you to filter by a specific date and the reasoning around it. You first select the reasoning, by clicking in the field you will be given a list of options to choose from such as 'earlier than'.
Fig 4 - Specific Date values
The next field is where you set the specific date, the Calendar picker will open for you to select the correct date.
Fig 5 - Specific Date Calendar
The above filter will find all records where a Contracts Active Start Date is 15/08/18
Between - this option will allow you to set a date range, it will find all the records within your specified date range for your report. By clicking in the field the Date Range Calendar picker will be displayed, select the appropriate From and To dates and press the orange [Add] button - the selected dates will then be displayed in the field.
Fig 6 - Between Date Range Calendar
The above filter will find all records where a Contracts Active Start Date is between 01/11/18 and 31/12/18
Relative - this option will allow you to pick a relative date to filter on, there are many values held within to choose from. These first set of values are in relation to the calendar year, so if you choose 'Previous Year' then it will display corresponding records that fall within that specific prior year. For example, 01-Jan-17 to 31-Dec-17.
Fig 7 - Relative values
The above filter will find all records where a Contracts Active Start Date is within the Next Quarter
If you choose a value with the ... spacing in, this means that you can set a numeric value for that filter value, a second field will appear for you to enter your number. These values are relative to the date that you are generating the report so if you select 'Previous 1 Year' then it will find corresponding records that fall 365 days prior to the day you run the report. For example 23-Aug-17 to 23-Aug-18.
Fig 8 - Relative ... value
The above filter will find all records where a Contracts Active Start Date is within the next 6 months from today
If you choose the 'Custom' value then you will be presented with a number of fields to create you own unique filter using the various drop down values displayed. Use the fields to build up the required filter, more fields will appear based upon your previous value selections.
Fig 9 - Relative Custom value
The above filter will find all records where a Contracts Active Start Date is 14 days after the start of next month
Is - This option will allow you to filter records based on if there is actually a value present within the field, this can allow you to find or filter out records where there may be missing information.
Fig 10 - Is values
The above filter will find all records where a Contracts Active Start date is blank
Number Fields
Number filters are used when you need to filter records by a specific numeric values. For any field selected that is classed as a numeric field (Integer) the below pop up is displayed.
By clicking in the first field you will be given a list of options to choose from, such as >= (more than or equal to), the next field is where you specify the numeric value.
Fig 11 - Numeric filter values
The above filter will find all records where a Contracts Annual (numeric) Value is more than or equal to 3000
If you choose the 'Between' option then you will be presented with two further fields for you to enter the between values.
Fig 12 - Numeric Between values
The above filter will find all records where a Contracts Annual (numeric) Value is between 1000 and 3000
Drop-down Value Fields
Drown-down Value field filter are used when you need to filter records based upon a specific value or values held within a field that has an associated drop down list. Fields typically with drop down values are Contract Type or Category, Status or any Custom field using a value set. When the pop up appears you will have 2 options:
Value - This option will display the field corresponding drop down list values for you to make your selection.
You are able to select one or more of the values presented in the drop down list. This will allow you to have a report that is based upon a group of data rather than single selection of data.
You can click in the field and a drop down list will appear for you to select the values, if you have a field where sub values defined such as Contract Type or Category, you may also use the additional filter icon to display the values as a tree structure to make your selection.
The Include descendants? checkbox allows you to select a top level value only and then all it sub value Types will also be included in the report.
The [Contains] and [Does Not Contain] buttons allow you to specify whether you wish to include or exclude the values you have selected
Fig 13 - Drop Down Values
The above filter will find all records where a Contracts Type Contains the value of either Customer, Supplier | Energy & Utilities or Supplier | Facilities
Is - this option will allow you to filter records based on if there is actually a value present within the field, this can allow you to find or filter out records where there may be missing information.
Fig 14 - Drop Dow Null Value
The above filter will find all records where a Contracts Type is blank
Checkbox Fields
Checkbox fields use the values or Yes and No, yes is ticked, No is unticked, when selecting a checkbox field as a filter then the below pop up will be displayed.
Fig 15 - Checkbox Filter
The above filter will find all records that are have the Confidential tickbox checked.
Using Multiple Filters
You can use more than one filter at a time, just drag and drop each filter field into the orange Filter panel. You can then use the [AND] and [OR] drop down options to specify how the filters are supposed to be processed and also adjust the order of the filters by moving them around.
Fig 16 - AND and OR
You can also open up the Evaluation Order screen by clicking on the text and the order is displayed, you can manually change the evaluation order here by introducing parentheses, if required. You can learn more about the Evaluation Order and how to use it in this article Understanding the Evaluation Criteria.
Fig 17 - Evaluation Order screen