Maintain filters

Create a basic filter

1. In the Navigation pane, right-click the entity folder you want to create a filter for and select Maintain Filters from the shortcut menu.

   

2. In the Maintain Filters dialog box in the Name field, enter a descriptive name for the filter.
3. If you want other users to have access to the filter, mark the Shared? checkbox.
4. In the Fields list box, expand the entity list that contains the field you want to specify filtering conditions on (if it's not already expanded), then highlight the field name. Condition prompts load in the panel to the right.

   

5. Respond to the prompts as appropriate.
6. Save the filter. The filter is added to the Filter list.

   

Create a prompting filter

Sometimes you need a filter that returns the same type of results but with different input(s). Rather than create a filter for each change in criterion, ActivityHD lets you create one filter that prompts you for the variable information each time you apply the filter. This type of filter is a prompting filter.

1. In the Navigation pane, right-click the entity folder you want to create a prompting filter for and select Maintain Filters from the shortcut menu.

   

2. In the Maintain Filters dialog box, type a question mark (?) followed by a descriptive name for the filter in the Name field.
3. If you want other users to have access to the filter, mark the Shared? checkbox.
4. In the Fields list box, expand the entity list that contains the field you want to specify filtering conditions on (if it's not already expanded), then highlight the field name. Condition prompts load in the panel to the right.

   

   Note

   You can only define a prompting filter on fields with condition prompts that permit you to select a comparison operator.

5. From the first drop-down list, select the comparison operator to use.

   

6. From the second drop-down list, select "parameter". ActivityHD fills in the parameter name for you.
7. If you selected the "like" or "not like" operator in the first drop-down list, an Automatic Parameter Wildcarding section is added below the condition prompts for the field.

   

   If you want ActivityHD to apply wildcards to the parameter value that is entered when the filter is applied to data, mark the checkbox(es) for the locations to add wildcards to. Your options are:
   • Prefix. Adds a wildcard (*) before the parameter value.
   • Suffix. Adds a wildcard (*) after the parameter value.
   • Replace Spaces. Replaces any spaces in the parameter value with a wildcard (*).
8. If there are additional condition prompts, respond to them appropriately.
9. When you finish, save the filter. The filter is added to the Filter list.

Modify a filter

1. In the Navigation pane, right-click the entity folder with the filter you want to modify and select Maintain Filters from the shortcut menu.
2. In the Filter list, highlight the filter to modify to load its details in the right side of the window.
3. In the Fields list box, locate and highlight the field you need to modify or add to the filter.
4. Make the needed changes to the filter. Follow the directions that apply to the action you need to take:
   • Delete - To remove a field from the filter, delete all conditions on the field. To do so, highlight the condition(s) and click .
   • Change - To change the conditions on a field, change the settings which define the conditions on the field.
   • Add - To add a field, respond to the prompts appropriately.
5. When you finish, save the filter.

Hide filters

If you regularly use a few filters and would prefer the filters you rarely or never use to be out of sight, you can hide the filters you don't want to see.

1. In the Navigation pane, right-click the entity folder associated with the filter you want to hide and select Maintain Filters from the shortcut menu.
2. In the Filter list, highlight the filter to hide.
3. Select the Advanced tab.
4. Mark the Hidden checkbox.
5. Save your changes.

To restore a hidden filter, follow the same steps, but clear the Hidden checkbox.

Save column settings for a filter

ActivityHD can remember the arrangement of columns you used the last time you applied a particular personal or shared filter so that you do not need to arrange the columns the next time you apply the filter.

1. In the Navigation pane, right-click the entity folder associated with the filter you want ActivityHD to recall the column arrangement for and select Maintain Filters from the shortcut menu.
2. In the left pane, highlight the filter you want ActivityHD to recall the column arrangement for.
3. Select the Advanced tab.
4. Mark the Save Column Settings? checkbox.
5. Save your changes.

Use manual SQL

A filter condition is the predicate of a SQL WHERE clause. If you prefer, you can write the filter conditions using SQL directly rather than using the software interface to build the filter conditions. You can also combine the two methods.

1. Open the Maintain Filters dialog box for the entity you want to manage filters for.
2. On the Filter tab in the Fields list box, highlight "Manual SQL" (at the bottom of the list). A Manual SQL text box is added in the right panel.

   

3. In the Manual SQL field, enter the conditions to apply.
4. Select the Advanced tab.
5. Click Check Conditions. ActivityHD will notify you if the conditions are error-free. Otherwise, ActivityHD notifies you of syntax problems so that you can make corrections.
6. After you resolve any syntax problems, save your changes.

Create a "sounds like" filter

ActivityHD provides a "sounds like" filter so that you can search names, descriptions, etc., when you don't know the exact spelling. To accomplish this, ActivityHD uses a function called SOUNDEX. Creating a SOUNDEX filter combines the parameter filter concept with manual SQL.

1. Open the Maintain Filters dialog box for the entity you want to add a SOUNDEX filter for.

2. In the Name field, type a question mark (?) followed by a descriptive name for the filter.

   Example

   ? Last name sounds like

3. On the Filters tab in the Fields pane, highlight "Manual SQL". A Manual SQL text box is added in the section to the right of the Fields pane.
4. In the Manual SQL text box, enter the following:

   SOUNDEX(<field name>) = SOUNDEX(:<parameter name>)

   Note

   An easy way to determine the field name and the parameter name is to select the field name in the Fields list and select the "like" or "=" operator with the "parameter" option. Go to the Advanced tab and you will find the field name and the parameter name in the SQL Conditions box. If you do this, don't forget to delete the bogus conditions from the Conditions text box on the Filters tab before proceeding.

5. Perform the conditions check if desired.
6. Save the new filter.

Work with parameters

On prompting filters, ActivityHD lets you specify the field type, the prompt text, and the hint text for the prompt. By default, parameter prompts default to their native field type. Nonetheless, you can change the field type if need be. A type of "date" ensures that the field is formatted to accept date inputs and that the field includes a pop-up calendar for selecting a date. A type of "reference" allows you to specify the table that contains the valid values for the field and provides look-up capability.

To customize a prompting filter:

1. Set up the prompting filter as described in "Create a prompting filter" above or load an existing prompting filter.
2. Select the Advanced tab. Note that the Parameters table has a row for each parameter the filter prompts for.

   

   Note

   In the SQL Conditions box, parameters are preceded by a colon (:).

3. For each row in the Parameters table that you need to change, do the following:
   1. From the Type drop-down list, select the data type for the parameter. Your options are:
      • String
      • Date
      • Time
      • Reference
      • Reference Mask
   2. In the Prompt field, enter the label to use when prompting for the parameter value.
   3. In the Hint field, enter hint text to help the user know what to enter.
4. When you finish, save your changes.