How to Use Filters

Owned by Steven Arrol (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Mar 19, 2021 by Calvin Tran (Unlicensed)
4 min read

 

This guide assumes that you’ve already worked through our 5-min Quick-start guide. If you haven’t yet completed it on your own, please do so first:

 

 

What are Filters?

Filters are a great way to focus in on the data that you care about, while hiding irrelevant data you may not need.

For example, you may only want to see how your DAY SHIFT is doing. For this, you’d filter IN all your DAY SHIFT data, and filter OUT all your other shifts (afternoon shift, evening shift, etc.).

Filters are not permanent and can never “break” anything on your dashboard (you aren’t actually deleting any data, just hiding it from view).

It usually takes less than a minute to add a filter and configure it to your liking!

Dashboard Filters vs. Widget Filters

DASHBOARD FILTERS:

Dashboard filters (sometimes called “global filters”) affect all the widgets on your dashboard by default.

This means if you add a Dashboard filter for “Machine Name”, and choose to EXCLUDE a machine called “Welder 2”, then EVERY widget on your dashboard will remove all data records for “Welder 2”.

This same logic applies when you use Dashboard filters to only INCLUDE certain records.

Dashboard filters are located in the right-side panel of your main dashboard screen.

WIDGET FILTERS:

Widget Filters only affect the widget that you add them to.

This means if you add a Widget Filter for Machine Name, and choose to EXCLUDE “Presser 7”, then ONLY the widget you applied this filter to will remove its data records for “Presser 7”. Any other widgets on your dashboard will keep “Presser 7” data in them.

Widget Filters are located on the right-side panel of the Edit Widget screen.

 

How to Add a Dashboard Filter

If you want your entire dashboard to filter IN or filter OUT certain data records:

  1. In your main Dashboard screen, click “Filter Your Dashboard” on the right-side filter panel.


    Note: If there is already at least one filter on your dashboard, simply click the “+” icon in the far-right corner of your Dashboard’s filters panel:

2. In the expanded list, select the metrics that you’d like to filter IN or OUT of your dashboard.



4. Select the checkboxes that you’d like INCLUDE in your dashboard’s data, and de-select (uncheck) the boxes that you want to EXCLUDE from your dashboard’s data.

 

5. Click OK to save.

Your dashboard will immediately update all of its widgets to filter IN or OUT all the data that you selected.

Congratulations! You’ve filtered your dashboard data using Dashboard Filters! 🤗

In the future, you can always update your filter by clicking the “pencil” icon beside it.

How to Add a Widget Filter

To add a filter that only affects an individual widget:

  1. Select the “pencil” icon on the widget where you want to add a filter.

The screen should expand to show only the widget you selected.

2. On the right-side panel, select the “+” icon next to Widget Filters to add a filter to this widget.

 

3. In the expanded list, select the metrics that you’d like to filter IN or OUT of your widget.

4. Select the checkboxes that you’d like INCLUDE in your widget’s data, and de-select (uncheck) the boxes that you want to EXCLUDE from your widget's data.

5. Click OK to apply your filters.

Your widget will immediately update to reflect your new filter.

6. Make sure your filter is set up the way you intended, and then click Apply to save your widget’s new filter configuration.

Using the N\A or N/A filter


The N\A means that an item exists, but does not have an appropriate value. An example of this is if you search for Reason Group3 and there are reasons in Reason Group2 but not in Reason Group3. They would have a Reason Group3 value of N\A. “N\A” is not searchable in the Analytics portal. To search for N\A, you must type “N\\A” to see the filter: