Limiting Data With Filters

Filters enable you to quickly select predefined criteria that limit data included in a report. Filters are selection criteria (Where statements) that an administrator creates for you to apply as needed, without having to create your own selection criteria.

WebFOCUS displays filters in filter groups. Each filter group can contain multiple filters. Selecting a single filter within one group creates a report with simple filtering criteria. By selecting multiple filters within a group or combining filters from different groups, you can create complex filtering expressions.

Note: Filters are only available when you are creating a report using a Reporting Object as a template. If you do not see filters, this means they have not been developed for this Reporting Object. Filters are not available when building a Standard Report or a Custom Report.

The following image shows a few sample filters as they appear in the Selection criteria tab of the Report Assistant. They are listed by Group and Name.

Simple Filtering Criteria

Simple filtering criteria consists of one or more filters from the same filter group. If you select only one filter, the data must match that filter to be included in the report. If you select multiple filters from the same filter group, the data must match only one filter to be included in the report. This type of criteria is an OR criterion.

Complex Filtering Criteria

Complex filtering criteria consists of one or more filters from multiple filter groups. Data must match one filter from each filter group to be included in the report. This type of criteria is an AND criterion.

Selecting Records With LIKE and NOT LIKE Operators

Alphanumeric fields include the following operators:

LIKE the character mask. This means that the value for the field you selected will be included in the report. All other values for that field will not be included in the report. For example, if you select the Plant field and specify Boston with LIKE the character mask, only values for Boston will appear in the report. Values for plants in all other locations will not be included.
NOT LIKE the character mask. This means that all values except the one you specify for the field you selected will be included in the report. For example, if you specify Boston with the NOT LIKE character mask, data for Dallas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Seattle, and St. Louis will display and no data will display for Boston.

These operators generate the appropriate LIKE and NOT LIKE expressions using the character mask available in the expressions list when creating a WHERE statement.