Filter a Report - Introduction

The InSight filter options provide great flexibility and power directly to the user. Most reports display between one and three built-in filter options. However, the user can change these options anytime and as often as desired.

Data Sources: The Data Sources list may be useful in determining additional information on tables and fields available within InSight.
Data Cache: To maximize InSight performance, the data is cached using the cache times listed below.
- Refresh: To force a data cache to refresh, click the [Refresh] button in the tool panel. The data in the current report will update to the latest date based on the filter in place at that moment.
- Cache Times:
  - Time to Live: Currently set to 10 minutes (600 seconds).
    - This is a time that dictates how long a particular cache is valid. If this time passes, that cache is considered invalid and data will be pulled from the database and re-cached the next time that information is accessed.
  - Eviction Interval: Currently set to 10 minutes (600 seconds).
    - This is a time that dictates how often InSight will go and clean out the invalid or expired cache items.
  - Refresh Interval: Currently set to about 3.3 minutes (200 seconds).
    - This is a time that determines how frequently InSight will go an automatically update any items in the cache.
  - Refresh Duration: Currently set to about 1.6 minutes (100 seconds).
    - This is a time that dictates how long InSight will let the automated refresh process operate. If the time limit is met, InSight stops updating the caches and they will remain invalid until a user manually updates them or the next automated refresh occurs.
- Stuck Filters: Filters that use a single select format may find that repeated runs of the same report but with different values may appear to have a stuck filter value. This can occur for single select filters. Click the [Refresh] in this case to force the data and filter to update.

Using the Built-in Filters

The process of using built-in filters is as easy as understanding the search method being used by the filter. In the following example, there are three filters: Course Code, Session, and Enrollment Status. This example is from the Courses »» Enrollment Lists »» Enrollment List Basic report. If you hover your mouse over the label section of the filter, the search method will display. See Search Filter Definitions at the end of the page.

Course Code: This field searches as a text field because the only option to enter data is via the text box. The search method uses "Begin with" meaning the text entered will search starting at the beginning of the field value and seek all records that match. For example, if "AUTO" were entered, all records with course codes starting with "AUTO" would be a match. If "S" was entered, all courses with a course code starting with "S" would be a match. The (s--) is a symbolic representation of the "Begin with" search method.
Session: This field searches as a select list because the method to enter data uses the drop-down select list. The search method uses "Equals (Select) - Single Selection" meaning the value selected from the list by the user will result in all records where the field value matches the filter exactly as selected.
Enrollment Status: This field searches exactly in the same manner as the Session filter.

Filter a Report
Enter a value for each of the desired available filters. Then click the [Update Results] button. The user can choose to leave some filters blank or use all the filters available. Once the [Update Results] button is clicked, the report will refresh and display the new filtered results. The time it takes for the report to display will vary depending on the number of search filters used and the resulting number of records to be displayed. The maximum number of records that can display is 100,000.

Cascading Filters
Many "Select" filters are designed as cascading filters meaning the available values in the select list will be filtered by a value in a prior filter. The cascading process starts from the leftmost filter and cascades to the right. It is best to enter values starting with the leftmost filter to account for this cascading feature.

Date Running Filters
Reports that contain Date Running filters have multiple fields to enter to work correctly. Follow these steps to use the three Running Date filters to search one specific date a course is running.

Date Start 1: Enter the date desired to search.
Date End 1: Enter the same date as Date Start 1.
Day of Week: Enter the full name of the day of the week, such as Monday. Only enter one day. This day should match the date entered for Date Start 1 and Date End 1.
Click the [Update Results] button.

You can enter a range of dates for the Date Start 1 and Date End 1 filters to cover a wider range, if desired. However, you must still only enter one [Day of Week] value.

There is also a table called [SectionScheduled] that contains a field called [Running Date]. This table may also be used to filter for a Running Date. However, the master Calendar must contain the dates and accurate scheduling for all possible dates of the courses you are filtering.

Null and Blank Filters
When using filters with Null or Blank criteria, the results are determined as follows. In some cases, Filter Logic may be required to use both a Null and a Blank with an "or" operator. (See Filter Logic below)

Null - the field value is null
Blank - the field value has a length of 0
Not Null - the field value is not equal to a null value
Not Blank - the field is either null or has a non-zero length

Changing the Search Method for a Built-in Filter and Removing a Built-in Filter

The search method for built-in filters can easily be modified. Follow these steps to change an existing search filter to a different method or remove a filter. (The process to change or drop filters is the same for report designers, except the designer would not use [Quick Edit] and can save the report with the new filters.)

While in report view of a report, select the [Quick Edit] option from the [Edit] button.
[Quick Edit] will open the filter settings portion of the report in partial design mode.
Filter modifications using [Quick Edit] are temporary and cannot be saved. Once you leave the report display, filters added via [QuickEdit] are no longer available. If the need exists to save new filters to a report, contact your system administrator or am inSight pro user at your organization about creating a copy of the report with the filters you need.
To remove a filter:
- Click anywhere on the label section of the existing filter EXCEPT on the pencil icon.
- When the settings window displays, click the delete icon (trash bin).
To change a filter:
- Click anywhere on the label section of the existing filter EXCEPT on the pencil icon.
- When the settings window opens, the default view includes four basic filter properties for the Filter Operator. Set these Filter Properties as desired.
- See the "Search Filter Definitions" at the end of this page.
  - Equivalence Type: Select the type of filter desired.
  - Filter Method: Select the method of filter desired. These values will vary based on the Equivalence Type.
  - Value: Set or select the filter criteria. (This setting is the Default Value when in design mode.)
  - Single/Multiple: This property is used when a select filter is used to determine if the filter accepts only a single value or multiple values at the same time. (Single-select VS Multi-select)
Continue to modify other filters as needed until complete.
Click the [Apply Filter] button.

Adding a Filter

Follow these steps to add a new search filter.

While in report view of a report, select the [Quick Edit] option from the [Edit] button.
Click the [+] button to the left of the [Apply Filter] button.
From the pop-up window, check the field to use in the filter.
Then click the [OK] button.
The new field now exists in the display.
Click anywhere on the label section of the new filter EXCEPT on the pencil icon to open the filter settings window.
When the settings window opens, the default view includes four basic filter properties. Set the Filter Properties as desired.
- Equivalence Type: Select the type of filter desired.
- Filter Method: Select the method of filter desired. These values will vary based on the Equivalence Type.
- Value: Set or select the filter criteria. (This setting is the Default Value when in design mode.)
- Single/Multiple: This property is used when a select filter is used to determine if the filter accepts only a single value or multiple values at the same time. (Single-select VS Multi-select)
There is also an [Advanced] properties option with additional property settings.
Click the gear icon in the properties window to the right of the delete icon. Set these properties as desired.
Source: This section displays the data source of the filter.
- Type: This will display "View" and is not an editable value.
- Name: The name of the underlying table from the search field and cannot be changed.
- Filter Name: The name of the field from the underlying table to be searched. If changed to a field from a different table, the table Name field above will also change.
Filter Operator: This section sets how the filter performs the search. See Search Filter Definitions at the end of the page.
- Equivalence Type: Select the type of filter desired.
- Filter Method: Select the method of filter desired. These values will vary based on the Equivalence Type.
- Value: Set or select the filter criteria. (This setting is the Default Value when in design mode.)
Filter Settings: This section sets various options for the filter. These settings typically are used when designing a report and saving filters.
- Filter Alias: Label displayed next to the filter. After entry, be sure to hit the [Enter] key to enable the text entered.
- Visible: If not checked, the filter field will not display. This setting can be used to force a default value that the user cannot change.
- Required: If checked, the field will require a value.
- Cascading: If checked, the values in select lists will be filtered based on the value of the filters to the left.
- Sort: This setting controls the sort of values in select lists. Click to switch between A-Z and Z-A.
Filter Formatting: This section sets how the filter displays. These settings typically are used when designing a report and saving filters.
- Format: This sets the format of the values in the filter select box. There may be some additional formats under a "Custom" category at the bottom of the select list.
- Font: This sets the display font type and size used in the filter.
- Style: These set the bold, italics, and underline display attributes of the filter display.
- Color: This sets the display color of the filter.
Continue to modify other filters as needed until complete.
Click the [Apply Filter] button.

Using Filter Logic

When adding more than one filter, the default logic between the filters is that they must all be true. However, sometimes you may desire to have some filters true sometime. To change the filter logic, use the [Filter Logic] field below the filter fields to reset the filter logic. Here are some examples:

Example 1: There are three filters. The objective is to have filters 1 and 2 be true at the same time or filter 3 is true. This logic would be entered as:
- (1 and 2) or 3
Example 2: There are three filters. The objective is to have filters 1 or 2 be true and 3 is always true. This logic would be entered as:
- (1 or 2) and 3
Example 3: There are four filters. The objective is to have filters 1 and 2 be true or 3 and 4 to be true. This logic would be entered as:
- (1 and 2) or (3 and 4)
Example 4: There are three filters. Filter logic is not set so the default logic is in effect. This logic would look like this:
- 1 and 2 and 3

Creating Running Date Filters

Filtering a report for a specific date/day when a course section is running is a common request. Filtering an InSight report for a running date takes more than one filter to obtain the desired outcome. Follow these steps to create the five filter fields needed to correctly filter a report to obtain all the course sections running on a specific date. The five filter fields must be in the order listed here to correctly match the filter logic added towards the end of the process.

Assuming you are working on a report you designed or a copy of a XenDirect report that already contains the [Sections] table, remove all existing filters. You can add other filters later.

Add the Course Section > DateStart field as filter 1:
- Alias = Date Start 1
- Required = Yes
- Visible = Yes
- Cascading = No
- Operator = Comparison >> Is Less Than
- Default = Leave blank
Add the Course Section > DateEnd field as filter 2:
- Alias = Date End 1
- Required = Yes
- Visible = Yes
- Cascading = No
- Operator = Comparison >> Is Greater Than
- Default = Leave blank
Add the Course Section > DaysofWeek field as filter 3:
- Alias = Day of Week
- Required = Yes
- Visible = Yes
- Cascading = No
- Operator = String >> Like
- Default = Leave blank
Add the Course Section > DateStart field as filter 4:
- Alias = Date Start 2
- Required = No
- Visible = No
- Cascading = No
- Operator = Date & Time >> Null
Add the Course Section > DateEnd field as filter 5:
- Alias = Date End 2
- Required = No
- Visible = No
- Cascading = No
- Operator = Date & Time >> Null
Enter Filter Logic: This part instructs InSight how to handle the combination of the five filter fields to obtain the correct outcome.
- (1 OR 4) AND (2 OR 5) AND 3
Save the report.

When running the report, enter the same date for Date Start 1 and Date End 1. Then enter the full name for the Day of Week that matches the date desired. Now click the [Update Results] button to update the report output.

You can add more filters if desired. However, for every filter you add, the filter number must be used in the logic and used in the correct syntax to perform correctly. If you add more filters but exclude them from the logic statement, they are ignored during the [Update Results] process.

Search Filter Definitions

Following are the available filtering operators and methods. Filtering method availability will vary based on the data type.

Null versus Blank:
Null is an absence of a value. A Blank string is a value but is just empty. Null is special to a database. Null has no bounds, it can be used for string, integer, date, etc. fields in a database. The behavior of searches using Null or Blank may experience different results. Blank fields may also be the result of a field that once had a value that was deleted but was not made Null.

Operator	Method	Description
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Filter a Report - Introduction

Rick Stern

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