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Field Filters

Depending on the type of field, a number of filters can be available. You can apply multiple filters to a field. The following filter types are available:

  • General filters
  • String filters
  • Range filters
  • List filters
  • Time and date filters
  • Pattern filter

Tip: The value that you enter for filtering is not case-sensitive.

General Filters

The general filters can be applied to any field value.

  • is not empty: a field value is present.
  • is empty: no field value is present.
  • is equal to: the field value matches the given filter value.
  • is not equal to: the field value does not match the given filter value.

String Filters

String filters interpret and filter the field value as a character string. String filters are not case-sensitive.

  • contains substring(s): the field value contains the given string.
  • does not contain substring(s): the value does not contain the given string.
  • starts with substring(s): the value starts with the given string.
  • does not start with substring(s): the value does not start with the given string.
  • ends on substring(s): the value ends with the given string.
  • does not end on substring(s): the value does not end with the given string.

Consider the following when creating a filter based on (sub)strings:

  • While these filters are not case-sensitive, they do depend on language. This means that the result of an Angle using such a filter depends on the language you are logged in with. This can potentially cause problems when sharing Angles. To prevent this, use the other, language-independent, filters where possible.

    Tip: If language-dependent filters cannot be avoided, we recommend to mention the language in the Angle name and to add a warning to the Angle comment field, i.e. "This Angle is language-dependent and can only be used in English".

    Example: You are logged in using the English language. You want to see a list of all standard sales orders. To this end, you create an Angle with all sales document headers in which the sales document type equals OR (Standard Order). If you set the filter to 'sales document type starts with OR', it will return the desired result. However, if you now share this Angle with your Dutch colleagues, and they log in using the Dutch language and execute the same Angle, it will not return the desired result. This is because in Dutch, the sales document type must be equal to TO (Termijnorder) in order to create a list with all standard sales orders. To ensure that this Angle produces the right result in all languages, you must set the filter to 'sales document type is equal to OR (Standard Order)'.

    Example: You are logged in using the English language. You want to see a list of materials that are 'value-only,' by searching the description. To this end, you create an Angle with all materials, with a filter: 'contains substring(s) value-only'. It will return the desired result of all value-only materials. If this Angle is shared with your German colleagues, they will get no results at all. This is because the field Description refers to the language-dependent Material Description in SAP (MAKT-MAKTX). The German descriptions of 'value-only materials' contain the term 'Wertartikel'. In this case, the solution is to create a filter where the language-independent Material type equals WERT to create a language-independent Angle.

  • If a field value is compiled using a short name and full description in parentheses, these filters will only search in the short name. The description between the parentheses is ignored.

    Example: You want to see a list of all trade materials. To this end, you create an Angle with all materials in which the material type is equal to HAWA (Trading goods). If you set the filter to 'material type contains Trading', no results will be returned. This happens because the full description between parentheses, Trading goods, is ignored. You must set the filter to 'material type contains HAWA' or 'material type is equal to HAWA (Trading goods)' in order to produce the desired result.

  • If the short name is compiled of multiple codes, these filters will search all codes.

    Example: You want a list of all Materials on Plant Level for which the number of the MRP controller equals 200 (APO Planner 00). If you set the filter to 'MRP controller contains 200', you will create a list of all materials that contain the number of the MRP controller 200 plus more. The list will also detail all materials that contain the plant number 200. This is because the number of the MRP controller in Angles for SAP is compiled of the number of the plant and the actual number of the MRP controller. The filter searches both numbers. As indicated in the previous example, filtering on the basis of APO is no use, as the filter ignores the description between the parentheses.

Range Filters

Range filters select a range of field values, based on whether they meet the lower and upper bound criteria. Range filters can be applied to numerical fields, enumerated fields, text/personal code fields, and date and time fields.

  • is between: the field value is between the given lower and upper limit. The lower limit is included; the upper limit is not.

    Example: is between€ 0.00 and € 10.00 returns € 0.00 and € 9.99 plus everything in-between.

    Example: is between1-4-2008 and 1-5-2008 returns everything in April 2008.

    Tip: When filtering on a date, you can include the end date by selecting the Include end date field. In the example above, combining is between, 1-4-2008, and 30-4-2008 and selecting the Include end date field will also return everything in April 2008.

  • is not between: the field value is lower than the given lower or higher than the given upper limit. The lower limit is not included; the upper limit is. There is one exception: for date fields the lower and upper limits are not included.

    Example: is not between € 1.00 and € 5.00 returns everything up to and including € 0,99 and everything from € 5.00.

    Example: is not between1-4-2008 and 30-4-2008 returns everything except April 2008.

    Tip: When filtering on a date, you can include the end date by selecting the Include end date field. In the example above, combining is not between, 1-4-2008, and 01-05-2008, and selecting the Include end date field will also return everything except April 2008.

  • is smaller than: the field value is lower than.

    If the field value is an amount, the limiting value is included.

    Example: is smaller than€1000 returns everything up to and including €1000.

    If the field value is a date, figure, fixed code/status (enumerated) or text/custom code, the limiting value is not included.

    Example: is smaller than1-6-2008 returns everything up to and including 31-5-2008.

  • is greater than: the value is higher than.

    If the field value is text/custom code, the limiting value is included.

    Example: is greater thanc (in a text field) returns everything starting with the letter c or any subsequent letter in the alphabet.

    If the field value is a date, amount, figure or fixed code/status (enumerated), the limiting value is not included.

    Example: is greater than100 (figure) returns everything from 100.0001 onward.

  • is smaller than or equal to: the value is smaller than or equals the given value (only available for number fields).

  • is greater than or equal to: the value is greater than or equals the given value (only available for number fields).

List Filters

List filters are filter field values that are part of an enumerated list. The list options are displayed when this filter is selected, and you can select the options that you want to filter out.

  • is in list: the field value equals one of the values from the list. Note that this option is also available for string and number fields.
  • is not in list: the field value does not equal the values from the list.
  • short name starts with substring(s): the short name of the object starts with the given string.
  • short name contains substring(s): the short name of the object contains the given string.

Time and Date Filters

Time and date filters can be applied to time or date fields only. A preview of the selected date (range) that corresponds to the chosen value is displayed below the filter. The following filters are available:

  • is before: the date or time lies before the given date or time.
  • is after: the date or time lies after the given date or time.
  • is between: the date or time lies between the given dates or times. You can decide if you want to include the end date or time or not.
  • is before or on: the date or time lies before or on the given date or time.
  • is after or on: the date or time lies on or after the given date or time.

For dates, you can edit your filter by selecting one of the options in the drop-down list:

  • Date: Select a specific date or date range.

  • Field: Make the filter relative to the selected field.

  • Period: Select a date range using a time unit. This is convenient if you want to select a common time period (week, month, etc) relative to your model date.

    The selected number stands for the offset relative to the model date (corrected for your current timezone), and the unit represents the length of the offset. An offset of -1 means that the selected period starts on the model date and ends one time unit after that.

    Example: You want to display all relevant data in the semester before the model date.

    To do this, select the unit Semester(s) from the drop-down list and the number -2. If you want to show the data of the semester before that, you would select Semester(s) and -3.

Pattern Filter

The pattern filter treats the field values as character strings, just like the string filters. Additionally, you can use wildcards to define a (sub)string pattern to filter the field values.

  • matches pattern(s): the search phrase matches a given pattern. This filter is not case-sensitive. You can use the following wild cards when entering a pattern:

    • * stands for any zero or more characters.
    • ? stands for any one character.

    Example: The pattern Jo*n matches John, Jon, and Joran. The pattern Jo?n matches John, but not Jon or Joran.

    Caution: If you use an asterisk or question mark without the selection criterion matches pattern(s), Angles for SAP will regard these characters as a normal part of the search phrase and not as a wild card. The result will actually contain an asterisk or question mark.

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