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Working with filters

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When managing contact list views you will need to utilize the filter tool which gives you a great amount of flexibility when filtering contact records. You may filter data by any built-in field or custom field. You can add any number of filter criterions. There is no limit.

After clicking 'Edit' on the List Filter section while creating, copying, or editing a list view, you will be presented with the filter tool.

 

Filter Criteria

In the 'Add New Filter' area, click the 'Select One' drop-down box to select a criterion by which you would like to filter.

The filter gives you a number of options depending on the type of field selected:

 

Regular Text Field

You can define a keyword term that is:

  1. equals (exactly matches) the field value
  2. does not equal the field value
  3. starts with a specific value
  4. ends with a specific value
  5. contained within the field value
  6. is not contained within the field value

    or without a keyword:

  7. is empty (there is no value for the field)
  8. is not empty (there is a value for the field)
 

Special Text Field

 

There are some special fields which contain compound filters, which includes name and address.

In these cases, you can choose to ignore one aspect of the field (e.g. the title, first name, last name, and middle name) and only filter on one of more aspects of this compound field (e.g., where the suffix contains 'CPA' or nickname equals 'tiny')

 

Status

When adding a Status filter you can choose to include those contacts currently assigned to a certain status or those contact current NOT assigned to a certain status. Since a contact can only have one status at a time, when selecting multiple statuses from the list, it will return contacts that have any one of the selected statuses. For example, if you were to set a match type of 'equals' and check both Active and Banned checkboxes as in the example above, the system would return all contacts who's status is either equal to Banned OR Active)

You may also set a filter to return all contacts whose status does not equal one or more status types. For example, if you set the match type to 'does not equal' it would only return contacts whose status was neither Banned nor Active.

 

Dates

You may choose those fields whose date value is on or after a specific date or a relative date. A specific date is where you define an exact year, month, and day. A relative date is a value relative to the current date. The options include:

  • today
  • one year ago
  • three months ago
  • one month ago
  • one week ago
  • yesterday
  • tomorrow
  • one week from today
  • one month from today
  • three months from today
  • one year from today
  • last year (calendar year)
  • last quarter (calendar quarter)
  • last month
  • last week
  • this year (calendar year)
  • this quarter (calendar quarter)
  • this month
  • this week

You may also choose those records with a given date field whose date value is before a specific or relative date. For example, to return only those contacts whose status date is from the beginning of the month to today, you could define a filter where:

  • The date is 'On or after this month' and 'Before today'

You can also set the Match Type to "Is Empty" to return all those records with no value in a particular Date Field.

 

Birth Date

The birth date field has a special filter where you simply filter by the contact's age in years from the current date.   The 'Match Type' options are as follows:

  • on or before
  • before
  • on or after
  • after
  • is empty
  • is not empty

Then you set the 'Years Ago' value.   So in the example above we are looking for those volunteers whose birthdays are on or before 18 years ago from today.

 

Credentials

Along with filtering on built-in fields, you may also set filters on any active credentials in an Approved or Exempt status for your organization. This filter is available at the bottom of the list of fields for use in filters. 

It allows you to select from the list of your credentials and automatically includes the filter of Approved/Exempt as the Status Match Value.

Credential_Filter.png

 

 

Assignments

Along with filtering on built-in fields, you may also set filters on any volunteer's assignments or lack of assignments during a specific number of days. This filter is available at the bottom of the list of fields for use in filters.

It has three configurable options:

  • Contact - Has, Does Not Have
  • Assignments in the - Next, Previous  (Based on Assignment Start Date for Positions)
  • Days - Open Text

This allows you to create different options for the three choices.  For example Contacts that HAVE assignments in the NEXT 30 DAYS.

 

Assignment_Filter.png

 

 

Custom Fields

Along with filtering on built-in fields, you may also set filters on all custom fields you create and activate for your organization. These will have similar properties as listed above where you may filter on text, dates, numerical data, or data from a list field.

 

Applying the Filter

When you have completed setting the filter elements or selected the saved filter you want to add, click 'Add' button (). The filter element will now appear in the list above with a blue 'x' to the right. If at any time you want to remove a filter element, just click .

You may set an overall "Match Type" on a series of filter criterion, where you can decide to show records that match 'Match All' (the record would have to meet all filter criteria) or 'Match Any' (the record only has to meet one of the filter criteria). For instance if you were to have three filter elements:

  1. A contact's last name starts with 'A'
  2. The contact has an 'Active' status
  3. The status date is on or after last month and before tomorrow.

Setting the match type to 'Match All' would add all contacts whose last name starts with the letter 'A' AND has an 'Active' status AND the status date is within the last month.

Setting the match option to 'Match Any' would add all contacts whose last name starts with the letter 'A' OR has an 'Active' status OR the status date is within the last month.

Check either 'Match All'  of 'Match Any' to set the overall filter match type.

Finally, click 'Save' to save the filter settings.

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