Table Viewer Filters
Recent versions of MainBoss have introduced the concept of table viewer filters. These filters let you choose what a table viewer does or doesn't show you. For example, you can set a filter on the Work Order browser so that you only see jobs for a particular unit or location. In this way, you can see the records you want without other records getting in the way.
Here are some simple examples of filters and the effects they would have on a particular table viewer:
- Category equals STRING (in many tables)
- Only shows records from a particular category. This can be used with many tables, e.g. Work Orders, Units, Items...
- Requestor equals NAME (in Requests)
- Shows requests submitted by a particular person
- Vendor contains NAME (in Purchase Orders)
- Only shows purchase orders related to a particular vendor
- Work End Date is on or before TODAY (in Assigned to current user | Open Work Orders)
- Shows open work orders that were assigned to you and were supposed to be finished by today. Essentially, these are the work orders you should be working on. If you filtered on Work Start Date is on or before TODAY, you'll get work orders that you're supposed to have started by the end of today.
- Make equals STRING (in Units)
- Shows all units of a particular make.
- Purchase Cost is greater than PRICE (in Units)
- Shows units that cost more than a particular price. This is an easy way to get a list of your most expensive units. (Note that a similar filter could be used with items to get a list of your most expensive inventory items.)
Note that you can also specify multiple filters. In this case, the filters are combined to narrow down a list even further. For example, you might use the following filters on the Purchase Orders | Issued table:
Required Date is on or before YESTERDAY Vendor contains NAME
This would list purchase orders from a particular vendor that are late (i.e. their "Required By Date" has passed but the purchase order is still open).
These simple examples should show how powerful filters are: they can quickly narrow down a list to just the records you want to see in a particular situation.
