Use of filters

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The user can find assets with the selected properties (for example asset type, upload date) by using filters. 

The filter panel is located on the left side of the home screen. Filters can be expanded and collapsed individually, the state which will be remembered when the user logs in next time.

The number of results is shown next to filter values already prior to executing the search. The user can apply several filters at once and the number of results updates in real time.

It is possible to cancel the search by clicking ‘Clear all filters’ in the center area above the assets.

Individual filters can be cleared either in the new filter chip area (above the assets, in the center) by clicking 'x' on an individual filter chip or by unselecting the filter option in the filter panel on the left side.

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It is also possible to save the current search by selecting ‘Save search’ in the filter chip area. For more information on saving searches, please refer to Search.

Filter types

There are several types of filters available, dependent on the metadata fields they refer to:

Searching in filters

There are search boxes available for some of the filters. They serve as a tool for quickly finding values within that filter. This is especially useful for the filters with a large number of possible values, e.g. keywords.

There is another search box placed above the assets. It serves as a supplementary global free-text search tool that further narrows down the results. Unlike the global search box in the top bar, however, it only returns asset results.

Excluding filters

On certain filters the user can choose to include or exclude the filter option, by hovering over the checkbox and clicking on an arrow to expand the options.

The above search will return assets of type 'Image', that do not contain the keyword 'water'.

Filter chips

Every element of the search is displayed over the assets in the form of chips. The user can either cancel the entire search by clicking the red ‘Clear all filters’ button or cancel the search criteria individually by clicking the 'X' next to them.

Filter personalization

When the user logs in for the first time, they start with a default set of filters configured by the administrator of the system.

The user can then individually customize the filters in the system, independent of the general configuration.

In order to adjust the filters to own needs, the user needs to click on the cogwheel in the upper right corner of the filter panel ('Options').

Under ‘Customize and reorder’, the user can add new filters, show/hide default filters, remove and re-order them. To reset the filters to the default settings, click the 'Reset to default filters' button. There are also options to expand and collapse all filter.

To change the order of the filters, the user needs to place the mouse pointer over the three lines next to the filter that should be appear higher or lower on the list, click on the icon and hold, while dragging the filter up or down. 

Configuration possibilities

There can be additional configuration options related to a particular type of filters.

Dependent filters

In the system there can exist dependent metadata fields, i.e. fields that are only displayed, if another field connected to it has a specific value. It is possible to configure the visibility of filters based on those dependent metadata values regardless of their status. When in ‘Reorder and customize’ mode, dependent filters have an option ‘Always show’. When checked, they will always show regardless of dependency on other fields.

Comparison type

For filters where it is possible to select multiple values (MultiComboValue, EditMultiComboValue, Tree), the user can decide on the comparison type:

• ‘OR’ - the more values the user selects, the more assets will appear in search results, because the assets only need to meet one of the criteria

• ‘AND’ - the more values the user selects, the fewer assets will appear in search results, because the assets need to meet all the criteria within the filter.

Number of values

For some filters the user can decide how many values are displayed when the filter is in expanded state.

Search in sub folders

For Tree filters, the user can decide whether the search should be performed only on main folders or also deeper into the tree structure.

Calendar direction

For DateTime filters, it is possible to decide on the direction of the calendar. In order to set this up, the user needs to click ‘More’ next to the relevant filter, hover over ‘Calendar direction’ and select one of the two options:

• ‘Backward’ - filtering for dates in the past

• ‘Forward’ - filtering for dates into the future.

Sorting in filters

Another personalization option within the filtering functionality is the ability to decide the sort order of the filter values. The available sorting options are:

• by usage: the most used filters are displayed at the top

• A-Z: the filters are sorted alphabetically.

Applying the new configuration

When the user has changed the configuration of how which filters will be displayed and how, clicking ‘Apply’ will save the changes and ‘Cancel’ will discard them.

Default filters

Default filters are configured by the administrator. For more information please refer to Filter configuration.

Default filters are visible to users upon their first login. It is then possible to customize filters most convenient for one’s own use. While the user can completely remove filters added by themselves, it is only possible to hide or show the default filters.

When new default filters are added by the administrator, they are automatically visible in the active filters of all users. The newly added default filter will be pushed to the end of the user’s filter list.

If a filter is already on the user’s list and was later added as a default filter, the filter will change its status as a default filter but all its configuration values (such as position, sorting, comparison type) will remain unchanged.