Creating Section Filters

Here is some information about creating section filters:

Restrictions on filtering

You can create section filters only for categories in a relational data source.
You cannot use the characters < > in filter names, prompt names, or default values.

Working with formatted and unformatted values

Some data items enable you to apply the filter using formatted values instead of unformatted values. If the Filter on formatted values option is available and you select it, then formatted values are loaded into the Available values box when you click Get Values. In this case, any values that you type must also be formatted. To load unformatted values into the Available values box, deselect the Filter on formatted values option and click Get Values again. In this case, you must type unformatted values. Regardless of your formatting choice, the query results are formatted.

Note: Depending on how the data item is defined in the data source, the formatted values might be the same as the unformatted values.

Using prompt names and prompt text

Usually, the prompt name is the same as the filter name but not always. For example, the user might not need to know the location of a source city, but, as the filter creator, you need to distinguish between the two filters in the Section Filters dialog box. In this case, you might name the two filters Canadian Source City and US Source City but give them both the same prompt name of Source City.

Be as specific as possible when entering the prompt text for users. For example, if you use the Not equal to operator for the prompt, then users need to know that their selections will be excluded from the report. A descriptive prompt name also helps users to enter the correct information.

Filter expressions

The filter combination expression is automatically updated as you select and deselect filters in the Section Filters dialog box. If your changes result in a filter combination expression that is not valid, you receive a warning. For more information about how to create a valid expression, see Combine Section Filters.

When you are creating a section filter that uses the Between values or Not between values operator, keep in mind that filters are evaluated based on the data type (character or numeric) of the selected data item and the locale that is currently active for the browser. For example, as a character string, the number 23 is considered higher than 1345 in the U.S. English locale. By default, filters are joined by the AND operator, which means that results are returned only if all selected filters are true.

When you can query for values

The data source administrator determines whether you can query data items in the data source for available filter values and whether you can create a filter that allows users to dynamically generate values.

Previewing filter results

To preview filtered results, select Data

Preview Section Data to open the Preview Data dialog box. All columns and up to 100 rows are displayed at one time. For more information, see Preview or Export Query Results.