Report filters allow users to hide parts of a report and view only data pertinent to them without affecting the report data.

Keep in mind that filters can be resource intensive and care must be taken when designing your reports and views so that each view does not take more than 2 seconds to generate.

• See also: Report Performance Details

You can create report filters on the Filtering tab of the Report Options dialog box.

The Report Options dialog box appears when you're creating a new report or editing an existing report (or view).

• The dialog box can also be accessed from a report by selecting the Filters drop-down in the top-right corner of the report and selecting Add or Edit Filters

There are two types of filter options you can create from this dialog box:

• Filter Rules: Filters that are always applied to a report or a view.

• Quick Filters: Filters that appear in the toolbar for users to apply after the report (or view) has been generated.

Filter Rules

The following standard filters are available by default.

To add a default filter rule to a report, complete the following:

1. Open the Report Options dialog box, and select the Filters tab.
2. In the Default Filters box, select the checkbox next to the desired filter rule and enter a number value if needed.
   • You can select more than one filter rule.
   • To add a new default filter, follow the instructions below.
3. Click Save to save and close the dialog box.

The new filters appear for the report view, but you still need to save the report to apply the changes to end users.

Adding Filters

To add a new filter rule to a report, do the following:

1. From the Filtering tab of the Report Options dialog box, click New Rule.
   • Two drop-down lists and a text field appear at the bottom of the Default Filters list for configuring the new filter rule.
     
2. From the first drop-down, select a column of data to use in your filter.
   • Only columns that appear within the report (or view) display in the list.
3. From the second drop-down, specify a comparison to use when evaluating the column of data.
   • A table of the available comparisons appears below.
   • The text box for your filter changes based on the format of the column of data that you selected. For example, if the column of data you select for your filter is formatted as a user or group, the text box allows you to select a user or group. If a column has a document format, the text box allows you to select a document.
   • Within the text box, you can use the asterisk (*) or the question mark (?) as wildcard characters. An asterisk can be used as a substitute for several characters. A question mark can stand in for a single character.
   • To enter multiple values in the text-field, separate each entry by a comma (,) as shown in the following example:
     
   • The data type of the property and the content in the text field must match. If there is a mismatch between the data types, an error message is displayed when the you save your changes.
   • Do not enclose Text entered within the Text box within quotation marks. (This compares to Text box fields in other areas of Appian, such as Process Modeler flow activities, that do accept text within quotation marks.)
   • The End Time filter may not be effective in filtering active (running) processes.
   • Datetime columns only display the Date when filtering. The time defaults to 12:00 AM for that date. As a result, all datetimes greater than that date at 12:00 AM are listed.
4. You can create multiple new filter rules.
5. Click Save to save and close the dialog box.

The new filters appear for the report view, but you still need to save the report to apply the changes to end users.

Comparison Operators Available for Filter Rules

Filter Operation	Description
=	Equals
<>	Not equal
<	Less than
>	Greater than
<=	Less than or equal to
>=	Greater than or equal to
>=	Greater than or equal to
>=	Greater than or equal to
in	in the list of comparison items
not in	not in the list of comparison items
like	similar to the comparison item
not like	dissimilar to the comparison item
between	confined or restricted to the range of values
not between	existing outside the confines of the values

To remove a filter, select the Filtering tab of the Report Options dialog box, and clear the checkbox associated with the filter and Save.

Creating a Filter that Uses Expressions

A broad range of expressions, functions, and rules are available for use as filters by adding hidden data columns to your report.

To add a hidden data column, complete the following:

1. From the Data tab of the Report Options dialog box, add a data column using an expression that results in true or false. See also: Adding Report Data

   • For example:

     1
     if(pv!ProcessVariable=desiredValue,true(),false())
     

     • If you do not require case insensitivity (for example, "HELLO" = "HELLO" returns true and "hello" = "HELLO" returns true), then use the exact() function rather than the '=' operator to improve performance (such that exact("HELLO","HELLO") returns true, but exact("Hello","HELLO") returns false). See also: exact()

   • For example:

     1
     if(exact(pv!ProcessVariable,desiredValue),true(),false())
     

     • When the report is rendered, the data column lists True or False for each row in your report (according to the expression you defined).
2. Clear the Show checkbox for the data column you want to use as your filter.
3. On the Filters tab, add a new filter that compares your hidden report column with a true or false value.
   • For example: Hidden Column = True
4. Click Save to save and close the dialog box.

The new filters appear for the report view, but you still need to save the report to apply the changes to end users.

Quick Filters

The Quick Filters Group Box allows you to create sets of filters that the user can select from the report toolbar. One of the filter rules in the set is always applied to the report or view (either the default or the first filter rule if no default is specified).

The following options are available for defining sets of Quick Filters.

Click ...	To
	Create a new filter set that will then be visible in the toolbar.
	Move the selected filter sets up one row. You can select a single rule's checkbox (or multiple checkboxes) before selecting Move Up. All selected rows move up one row.
	Move the selected filter sets down one row. You can select a single checkbox (or multiple checkboxes) before selecting Move Down. All selected rows move down one row.
	Delete an existing filter set, when the checkbox next to the filter set is selected. Multiple filter sets can also be deleted.
	Display each filter in the set as a link on the report (or view) toolbar.
	Display all filters in the set as a dropdown list that appears on the toolbar.
	The Quick Filter Sets you define are exposed either as links or as dropdown lists on a secondary toolbar when this checkbox is selected. (By default this option is selected for all reports.) If you clear this option, users can still apply Quick Filters from the Filters list that appears on the primary toolbar. The secondary toolbar also displays the dynamic filter button and the hide toolbar button . Clearing this checkbox disables dynamic filters.

Adding a New Filter Set

To add a new filter set, complete the following:

1. From the Filtering tab of the Report Options dialog box, click Add Filter Set.
   • The New Filter Set Dialog Box is displayed.
     
2. Filter sets are a collection of filters. To add a filter to a filter set, click Add Filter to Filter Set.
   • The New Filter Dialog Box is displayed. See above: Adding Filter Rules
     
3. Filters in your Quick Filter set appear for your users in the order they appear in the Edit Quick Filters Dialog Box. Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to set the order.
4. The Display Name that you enter appears next to the filter options in the toolbar.
   • The filter set display name cannot exceed 30 characters. Additional characters are trimmed.
5. Click Save to save and close the dialog box.

Once you've saved your filter set, it appears on the Quick Filter list.

The new filters appear for the report view, but you still need to save the report to apply the changes to end users.

To modify an existing filter set, click its name from the Filtering tab of the Report Options dialog box.

• The Edit Filter Set Dialog Box appears, which lists the filters within the filter set.
  

To delete a filter from the filter set, select the checkbox next to the filter set and click .

The default filter you specify is always applied initially. It is often useful to create a default filter that does nothing, called Show All to make the unfiltered report display as your default view. If you do not specify a default filter, the first filter in the set is automatically applied as the default option.

Dynamic Filters

See also: Reports