Data filters

The general behavior of a prompting filter is the same as that of a basic filter except that ActivityHD prompts you for additional information before it performs filtering.

To apply a prompting filter, select a filter with a name preceded by a question mark (?) from the Filters drop-down list.

ActivityHD prompts you for one or more parameter values.

Respond to the prompt(s) and then click OK.

ActivityHD immediately applies the filter. Notice that the parameter value is indicated in the Filters field.

You can apply multiple filters on a data set simultaneously. You can apply basic filters, prompting filters, or a combination of both.

To apply multiple filters, first apply a filter according to one of the methods described in "Apply a basic filter" or "Apply a prompting filter".

To apply another filter, click the drop-down arrow on the Filters field, press Ctrl, and select another filter. Notice that both filters are indicated in the Filters field.

Repeat the last action for as many filters as you need to apply.

When you have applied multiple filters, you can selectively unapply individual filters. For instance, suppose we have applied three filters on a data set.

To remove one of the filters, click the drop-down arrow on the Filters field, press Ctrl, and select the filter you want to remove from the drop-down list.

The filter you selected is unapplied while the other filters remain applied.

If you apply multiple filters on a data set including prompting filters and subsequently want to reapply the filters with different responses to the prompts, click to unapply the original filtering, then click to reapply the filters. ActivityHD will prompt you for new parameter values.

A few data filters don't fit neatly into the categories previously described. These filters have additional fields not found on other entity filters.

In addition to the typical Filters field and Lookup field, General Ledger's Financial View Items HD view includes filters for calendar, year, and period. To filter by these fields, click on the Period field to open the Calendar Period popup where you can select appropriate values from the drop-down lists. An As of field is also provided where you can select a cutoff date for the postings you want to see. Postings after the specified date are ignored.

In the Payroll Leave Ledger Balances HD view, you can filter the data by a range of leave balance dates.

In Fixed Assets, some columns can change depending on the value in the As of date field. These columns are calculated using only postings occurring on or before the date shown in the As of field. Columns that are affected by the As of date are indicated by an asterisk (*) at the beginning of the column heading.

When you enter a string in a Lookup field, ActivityHD typically searches two or three fields to identify matches. The fields searched depend on the data set. To find out which fields will be searched, hover your cursor over the field and read the hint in the task bar.

To use a Lookup field, enter the string you want to find a match for and then press Enter or press Tab or click outside of the field. Search strings can include wildcards. ActivityHD shows the records that contain the string in one (or more) of the search fields. Notice the orange outline around the field that indicates the search string has been applied.

To reset the Lookup field, highlight its contents and press Delete. The orange outline is removed and the field clears.

The Lookup field can be used alone or in combination with the Filters field.

Exceptions

A couple of entities in the General Ledger package have masked Lookup fields; namely, chart of accounts and some financial view items.

These lookups search only the Account field. You can enter a complete or partial account code to search for matches. Use the mask to help you fill in the part of the account code you want to match.

Certain entity types can be flagged as obsolete. By default, obsolete records for these entities are not shown in the HD view. In case you want to see obsolete records along with active records for these entity types, an Include Obsolete checkbox is included above the HD view for these entities.

To show obsolete records in the HD view, mark the Include Obsolete checkbox. Notice that obsolete records are denoted with a caution icon.

Exceptions

A few entities have checkboxes in the filter area with behavior similar to Include Obsolete in that they add data that is not represented in the default view; however, their actions are specific to their contexts.

The Financial View Items HD view in the General Ledger package has an Include Unmerged checkbox. Marking the checkbox includes unmerged transactions in the beginning and ending balances.

The Payroll Runs HD view has an Include Closed checkbox that lets you include closed payroll runs in the data view.

In the Purchasing package, orders and purchases have an Include Canceled checkbox that lets you include canceled purchase orders and purchases in the data views. Canceled items are indicated by a red X.

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.

   

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.