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Using Filters

Database Explorer supports the use of filters to limit the number of records that can be found and worked on. You can have an unlimited number of filters per table that is opened. Be aware that any defined and active filter setting will limit the number of records that can be found. In other words, the filters are combined using AND logic, not OR.

Filter States

Defined filters can be either active or inactive. This means that you can define more filter settings than you actually use. When you use the Filter by Value button, all active filters will be deactivated, and the newly defined filter will become active.

Saving Filters

Filters defined during a session of Database Explorer can be saved to disk. The Manage Filters button in the toolbar has functions to:

  • Save the filter information to disk
  • Load filter information from disk

When saving manually, you will select the name of the file. The default extension will be .DBE-Filter, and the file contents are in XML format.

If you want the information to be automatically saved to disk when you switch to a different table or workspace, you can enable this feature. When the table is reopened later, the filters will be automatically loaded for you. The default configuration option for this feature is OFF, and you must turn it ON to use it. The files created are named DEFAULT-.DBE-Filter.

Custom Filter Files

If you want to modify or create filter files yourself, you need to follow this structure:

  • The nodes filter and ddofilters can be repeated as many times as desired.

Sample XML File Contents

The following text shows you a sample of the XML file contents:

<filters>
    <filter>
        <table>dept</table>
        <record>10</record>
        <field>DEPT_CODE</field>
        <operator>Eq</operator>
        <value>ACCT</value>
    </filter>
    <filter>
        <table>company</table>
        <record>1</record>
        <field>TOTAL_BUDGET</field>
        <operator>Gt</operator>
        <value>100</value>
    </filter>
    <filter>
        <field>TOTAL_BUDGET</field>
        <operator>Lt</operator>
        <value>10000</value>
    </filter>
</filters>