Edition: Professional (limited), Business, Enterprise
User-level: All
Previous steps: Creating a custom report
Including filters in your reports allows you to narrow down the data that is presented. Almost any data column in the reporting engine can be used as a filter. This includes both text and numbers.
For example, if you have a report that shows you a list of projects, you can filter that list by the project status, allowing you to limit the list to show only projects with a particular status.
The filter list
To view the filter list, you will need to click on the filter icon from the customise report screen:
This will open up the filters list. This will show you details about each filter applied to the report. You can have as many filters as you need on the report. I'll go through each part of the filter list below:
1. Column Name
This will tell you what column the filter is based on. If you need to change a filter, you can click on the column name to swap it over.
2. Filter Rule
This is the rule that the filter follows. This will be where you tell the filter how you want it to behave.
The options available in the filter rule will be different depending on the data in the column selected:
For multi-select columns you will see options such as INCLUDES, EXCLUDES, etc.
For Text columns you will see options such as EQUALS, CONTAINS, etc.
For Number columns you will see options such as EQUALS, IS LESS THAN, IS BETWEEN, etc
For Date columns you will see options such as EQUALS, IS BEFORE, IS AFTER, LAST MONTH, THIS YEAR, etc.
3. Filter Value
This is the value that the filter will use to limit your report. Depending on the type of data the column shows, you will see different types:
Multi-select
Text
Number
Date
4. AND/OR
This is where you will click to add more filters. Which one you choose will determine how the next filter interacts with other filters. You can see what operator is being used on the far left at point 7.
By using AND, the report filter will be included alongside the other filters. For example, this report will show you only projects that have the Proposal status AND are billable:
By using OR, you will get a filter that will give you results based on one OR another value. For example, this report will show you projects that are either in Proposal OR Pending Invoice status:
5. Delete
The red X at the far right of a filter will remove the filter from the list.
TIP: If you use this option while NOT editing the report (i.e., running the report normally), then this will just remove the filter from this run of the report. When you refresh the report, the filter will return.
6. Allow edit of filters before running the report
By selecting this option, it allows you to modify the filters when you run the report. This can be helpful for a report that you need to run for a different period of time each time you run it, or for a different staff member.
7. Filter Operator
This shows you whether the filter is using the AND or the OR operator. Filters that use the OR operation will show as nested beneath the filter they are attached to:
8. OK
Once you have made your changes, you can use the OK button at the top right to save them and move back to the report customise screen.
TIP: If you click cancel, all changes made will be lost.
Filtering in your reports can be a super helpful way to reduce your report complexity and get just the data you need to see.
Where to next?
What other features does this relate to?