Use Filters in the DSP®

Filtering a result set is the process of limiting the number of records processed by the DSP. A filter removes records from the page that do not meet the user-defined criteria, which limits the number of records displayed or downloaded.

Filtering also produces noticeable performance improvements and limits the amount of data transferred between the SQL Server and the web server. This limitation decreases the processing time for the request and the size of the active web page.

The Filter option is available for all Horizontal Views that contain records. To access the filter, click the Page Options menu (the small gear in the upper right of the page with the label More Actions) and select Filter.

The Filter View displays a row for each column that can be filtered in the Horizontal View. Reserved columns, such as the Edit, Status and Delete, are excluded from the filter.

The controls on the Filter View allow the user to define filter criteria. Filter criteria operates on individual columns. Only one set of criteria can be applied to a column at a time. The type of control (for example, text box, check box, or list box) on the Horizontal View determines the control used on the Filter View for that column.

For example, a column that contains a text box on the Horizontal View allows a user to filter on a range of values in that text box. This text box on the Filter View has two boxes to store the high and low ranges values. A check box on the Horizontal View allows a user to filter on three options in the Filter View, enabled, disabled, or both.

After applying a filter, sorting and paging through results does not affect the filter results. The filter is preserved when viewing or editing records. Filters are maintained when initiating intrinsic and user defined events.

Filters are lost when navigating between pages, except when using the Back button in the browser to return to a filtered page. Filters are not retained between user sessions.

Filters are maintained when downloading data. Refer to Download Data in the DSP for more information.

A filter can be set on the Filter view, or from a right-click menu directly on the page.

To use the Filter View to set a filter:

  1. Click the Page Settings icon (the small gear labeled with More Actions on a page) and select Filter.

  2. Set filter criteria.

    NOTE: The filter criteria that can be set for each page is based on the columns available on the page and any additional configuration settings set by an Administrator.

  3. Click OK.

The Horizontal View displays with the records that meet the filter criteria.

To set a filter on a page:

  1. Select one or more records on a page.
  2. Right-click the records and select Filter from the menu.

Only selected records display on the page.

When a filter is in use on a page, the words “FILTER APPLIED” display at the top of the page.

To clear the filter, either:

  • Click FILTER APPLIED.

Or

  • Access the Filter View and click Clear.

Or

  • Click the Page Settings icon (the small gear labeled with More Actions on a page) and select Clear.

NOTE: A Page Designer can control which fields display on the Filter view for a page in a custom WebApp. Refer to Hide Columns on a Page's Filter View for more information.

Use a Text Box Range and a Wildcard with a Filter

On the Filter View, a user can further narrow filter results by using the Text Box Range and wildcards.

The Text Box Range displays as two fields on the filter for a specified column, such as a text field, numeric data, or date and time ranges. Users define a high and/or low range to filter that column’s results. These ranges are inclusive. If the user specifies a range of 1 to 3 on a column with numeric data, any record containing values 1, 2 or 3 displays on the filtered page.

For high range criteria, the DSP® returns any column that starts with the string. Technically, the string Web comes before WebApp. If the user specifies Web as the high range, the filter includes results for WebApp.

On character data columns, the column’s sort order determines the order of the characters. A case sensitive sort order produces different results than a case insensitive one.

With character data, NULL values are normalized to a zero length string. A filter that includes only a high range value returns columns with NULL values and zero length strings. Any filter that includes low range criteria excludes records with NULL values and zero length strings for the specified column.

The Text Box Range control also allows users to perform wildcard matches. To perform a wildcard match, specify a value in either the high or low range fields, but not both. This value must contain the wildcard character; otherwise it is assumed the user is filtering by range.

The wildcard character matches zero or more characters. The following examples show various uses of the wildcard character and describe the result of each:

  • Web* – Matches values that start with Web.
  • *App – Matches values that end with App.
  • *WebApp* – Matches values that contain the word WebApp.
  • *Web*App* – Matches values that contain the word Web App, as well as phrases like Web Application.