Quick Filters

Owned by Avo Keinaste
Last updated: 13 Sept, 2022 by Sven-Erik Petermann
5 min read

Quick Filters is a feature for admin tables that helps to repeat complicated, multi-column filters and make more sophisticated queries for related tables. It does this by adding ability to save filters locally to user's browser and restore them later.
Since introducing new GraphQL based tables to Admin there is no longer possible to search by all the columns in tables (some columns are view-only), this feature allows to make more complicated searches that must include data from 2 related tables.

Use cases

  • Restore saved Quick Filters in the same table
    This can be used to re-apply frequently used multi-column filters more conveniently.

  • Apply saved Quick Filters to a related table
    For adding additional possibilities to table filtering by data that doesn't exist in current admin table but has relations to it.
    For example: Need to search VMs that have billing account with negative balance.
    It is possible to first search in billing account table and filter out accounts with negative balance. This filter can be saved and then applied in VMs table. Applying the saved filter in VMs table will filter out VMs that have billing account balance negative. Filtering VMs by Balance without using a filter is not possible in VMs table as the Balance column is view-only.

How to use?

When admin table supports Quick Filters, the following UI element (let's call it “QF select-box” from now on) appears at the top of the table. This element is main component that you are using to interact with Quick Filters. It can be used to save, rename, delete and apply them.

1.1 Quick filter UI element aka “QF select-box”

Deleting or renaming a Quick Filter can be done from QF select-box. Hovering over saved Quick Filter’s name, buttons will appear for aforementioned actions.

1.2 Rename or delete a Quick Filter

 

Saving filter set as Quick Filter

To save a current combination of filters as a new Quick Filter, click on the QF select-box and select “Save Quick Filter“ option (see screen 2.1). A new dialog window will open where you can give your new Quick Filter a name (see screen 2.2). After naming the filter and closing dialog window by clicking submit button, the newly created Quick Filter will appear in the QF select-box as a selectable option. Tick mark in front of this option indicates that this Quick Filter is currently applied to the admin table. To de-apply it, just click on the this option again (see screen 2.3).

 

Using Quick Filters in same table context

To use Quick Filters later in the same table context, just open admin table Widget and select Quick Filter you want to apply from the QF select-box options. All filter and ordering changes already in effect in this table are reset and rules saved in selected Quick Filter will be applied instead.

Using Quick Filters in related tables

You can also apply Quick Filters saved from one table to a different table as long as these tables have relations through foreign key fields. For example, a Quick Filter saved from users table can be applied to Virtual Machine’s or Billing Account’s tables. Selected filter will be applied to foreign key field and merged with all the other filters already in effect for this table. Multiple relational filters can be applied, one for each relation (user filter and billing account filter for VM tables for example - see screen 3.3). Colored dot indicates that relational Quick Filter is applied to this field.

 

Things to keep in mind

  • Quick Filters are saving column filters and also table ordering.

  • Quick Filters are immutable, their content can't be changed, only renamed to a different name.
    Tip: if you need to change a Quick Filter, apply it, make changes and save as a new filter.

  • In Quick Filter's select-box, only filters that can be applied to current table are shown. This is, filters that are saved from the currently selected table or filters that have relations to the current table.

  • In related table context, only one Quick Filter can be applied per relation. For example, in VM admin table, one filter can be applied to user relation and one to billing account relation.

  • In same table context, only one Quick Filter can be active at one time.

  • Quick Filter can be saved only when current admin table doesn’t have already any related table Quick Filters applied to it.

  • If using Quick Filter on a related table then the results from the original table are limited to 1000 entries for performance reasons. E.g., saving a broad filter on Billing Accounts and using that to find Virtual Machines will only show Virtual Machines of the first 1000 Billing Accounts that were found.