Filters
Filters in RangerMSP allow you to define advanced search rules that can be applied for Accounts, Tickets, Charges, Items, etc. You can define the filter, save it easily and use it later to filter lists.
Create New Filter
The Filter option is available in each window, in the left-top corner of the window:
To create a new filter you can use one of the options:
- New - create new filter from scratch.
- New from template - use predefined template to create a filter. This will automatically define the fields and values for the search. These settings can be modified once the template is selected
New Filter
To create a new filter:
- Select Filter > New.
- Choose the fields you want to filter by and their values.
- You can add lines where each line is calculated according to the logical term (AND/OR) in the beginning of the line.
- You can use the By Subject and Secondary Filter options. See more details below.
- You can choose to sort the results using the Sort fields at the bottom of the window.
- Click OK to finish.
- Note that in order to save the filter, you should use the Save option. See more details in Saving Filters.
New from Template
Use predefined templates to create a filter. This will automatically define the fields and values for the search. These settings can be modified once the template is selected.
Examples for templates:
- Accounts with Assets expiring next month.
- Accounts with expiring Contracts.
- Tickets which are open over 24 hours.
- Open Tickets without any logged charges.
To create from template:
- Select New from Template
- Choose the filter template you want to apply, and click Next.
- In the next step, the New Template window opens, however, there are already predefined fields selected for this filter, as defined in the template. In this window you can modify the search criteria if needed (see New Template ).
Saving Filters
While a new filter is being used without saving yet, the menu looks like this:
The pause and delete options provide a quick way to stop the filter from affecting the list. These options will appear when hovering over the (Unsaved) label. At this stage, you can use the filter, pause it and edit it, however, it will not be saved until you actually save it.
To save the filter for future use:
- From the Filter menu, choose Save
- The Save window opens
- Enter a name for this filter
- Choose whether you want to share this filter with other users
- Click OK to save.
- The filter is now available in the filter drop-down menu.
By Subject (filtering by user-defined fields)
For entities that have user-defined fields, you can use the "By Subject" tab which allows you to filter according to the user-defined fields. Here you can choose the subject you want to filter by, and this will give you the relevant field list for this subject. A subject is basically a fields-group, which can be defined when adding new fields. For more details about adding your own fields, click here.
Secondary Filter (filtering linked data)
The secondary filters allow you to create super-advanced filters on the results, and narrow down the results to exactly what you want to see.
For example, you can filter Charges, and narrow the results by specific ticket type, which reflects the type of problem (i.e. printer, mobile phone, laptop etc.,). This feature is quite powerful and provides great analytic possibilities.
Other examples:
- Filter Tickets to display only Tickets related to Accounts to which a specific Employee is assigned.
- Filter Charges to display all Charges logged for Block of Time Contracts that belong to Accounts which are assigned to a specific Employee.
- Filter Charges to display only Charges for Completed Tickets that belong to Accounts of the type 'Law Office'.
- Filter Tickets to only display Tickets of VIP Accounts.
- Filter Charges to only show Charges related to Block of Time Contracts.
- Filter Tickets to only show Tickets linked to Assets whose warranty has expired.
- Filter Opportunities to only show Opportunities of Accounts that I am assigned to as the manager.
To use the secondary filter:
- Create a New filter
- Selecting the Secondary Filter Tab.
- The available data sources appear. Each has a Filter button.
- Click Filter for data sources you want to filter and define the filters in the window that opens.
- Click OK.
- The chosen filter now shows (Filter Active)
Advanced Queries
When creating a Filter from templates, some of the templates are marked with (*), marking them as “advanced”. These templates are system-defined templates and use advanced queries on data related to the entity. These queries cannot be defined manually, however, users can define the search criteria in the next window.
For example:
Non-Expiry Search Options
When defining filters which are date-time based, such as by Ticket Due Date or Creation Date, etc. you can use non-expiring conditions, which are always relevant to the day you activate the filter. For example, saved filters that can be used everyday:
- Tickets created yesterday.
- Tickets that are due tomorrow.
- Contracts that expire this week.
- Assets expiring next month.
Renaming Filter
Once a filter is saved, you can rename it by using a special option. To rename a filter:
- Choose the filter from the filters list.
- Select Filter > Rename/Share
- The following window opens:
- Enter the new name in the Name field.
- Click OK to finish.
Sharing Filter With Other Users
Filters can be shared so that other users can enjoy the already defined filters. When saving the filter for the first time, you can also set the sharing options in the new filter window. See Saving Filters for more details.
To share an existing filter:
- Choose the filter from the filters list.
- Select Filter > Rename/Share
- The following window opens:
- Choose Everyone to share your filter. Note that only users with “Save Filter” privileges can edit the filter. See more details in Employee Privileges.
- Click OK to finish.