A group is a collection of filters with conditions.
All the filters in a search can be compared to an if-statement.
Example:
If a search only has these three filters, the comparable if-statement is (in pseudo code)
If(asset.asset_type is in the supplied list of asset types AND asset.assetid is in the supplied list of asset IDs AND asset.itemid is in the supplied list of item IDs) { AddAssetToResults() }
So, to reiterate, all filters have an "AND" relationship to every other filter.
Creating a Group is a way of having other 1 Conditions in the "if-statement".
Example of how to create a Group:
Go to the Search Editor → click "Add group" → add a filter → choose a Condition → rinse and repeat until satisfied.
3 The Details panel view of the newly created group:
The 1 Condition of each preceding filter in the group is applied to the following filter.
If we add this group to the filters used in the above example:
Then the if-statement will be
If(asset.asset_type is in the supplied list of asset types AND asset.assetid is in the supplied list of asset IDs AND asset.itemid is in the supplied list of item IDs AND (asset_detail.name equals the supplied name OR asset's keywords meta data has a keyword, which equals the supplied keyword)) { AddAssetToResults() }
The first filter in a group will always have an AND condition in relation to all other filters not in the group, but subsequent filters in the group can have other 1 Conditions.
In conclusion: a group can be compared to parentheses in an if-statement.