Table Filters

This help file applies to an out-of-date version of MainBoss.
The most recent version of MainBoss is MainBoss 4.2.4.
For the latest version of this help file can be found here.

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A table filter tells MainBoss to display a subset of all the records that are in a particular table. In this way, it "filters out" records that you don't want to see.

For example, suppose you want to see which jobs are scheduled to begin today. You could set up a filter on the Work Orders table saying that you only want to see work orders whose "Work Start Date" is today. MainBoss would then filter out any work orders that started on some other day, so that the table viewer only displays work orders starting today.

As another example, suppose you only want to see information on units in your HVAC system. You could set up a filter on the Units table saying that you only want to see work orders whose "System" is HVAC. MainBoss would then filter out non-HVAC unit records, so that the table viewer only displays HVAC units.

You can specify a filter in any table viewer. To do so, click the filter set-up button beneath the table's list of records:

This opens a window similar to the one used to search for individual records. (See Searching for a Particular Record.) Use this window to specify which records you want to see. For example, suppose you're in the Items window and you specify

This indicates that you only want MainBoss to display item records whose "Code" field starts with the letter B. Once you enter this information, click the Apply Filter button. You'll see that the table viewer changes so that it only shows records that match what you've specified. If you Close the filter window, the table remains filtered. To return to the table's usual state, blank out the checkbox labeled Apply Filter.

The filter set-up window contains the following:

Fields, filter conditions, values: Select the records to be displayed. You specify your selections in the same way that you specifying search conditions when searching for a particular record (see Searching for a Particular Record).

Add Filter Condition: If you click this button, the window expands to allow another condition to be added to the filter. You can click this button several times to get multiple filter conditions (up to a total of six).

If you specify multiple conditions, MainBoss only shows records that satisfy all the specified conditions. For example, suppose you're filtering the Requests table. One condition specifies that you only want to see requests where the "Requestor" is John Smith. A second condition specifies that you only want to see requests where "Request Priority" is Urgent. Then MainBoss displays all urgent requests from John Smith.

Apply Filter: If you click this button, MainBoss immediately filters the table using the given criteria. Note that the table does not get filtered until you click this button.

Disable Filter: If you click this button, MainBoss stops filtering the table—you see all the records you normally would.

Close: Closes the filter window. If you have not clicked Apply Filter, MainBoss will not filter the table. Furthermore, MainBoss will not record any filter conditions you've specified—the next time you open the filter window, you'll start from scratch again.

On every table viewer, there is a checkbox labeled Apply Filter. If this box is blank, the table is unfiltered—you see everything you'd usually see. If you checkmark the box, the table will be filtered using the filter that is currently defined. By blanking or checkmarking the box, you can switch back and forth between filtered and unfiltered displays.

Request, work order and purchase order tables are also affected by the active filter. For more, see The Active Filter.

For more on using table viewers, see Using Table Viewers.

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