Filtering Information
Filtering is a helpful tool when a page contains hundreds or thousands of records. Instead of scrolling through the data page by page, you can use the filtering feature to narrow your search to include only the necessary information.
The 
beside a limiting option indicates that the filtering feature is available. Limiting options typically include Name, City, Phone, First, Last, Account, Dept, Last Order, and so on. When you click the down arrow, you can choose to filter the information using such options as Contains, Starts With, Ends With, Between, and so on.
There are three filtering types:
String Boxes: Limit by both alpha and numeric characters, abc123, for example.
Numeric Boxes: Limit by only numeric characters, 123, for example.
Date Boxes: Limit by date, 2/1 through 2/15, for example. When limiting by a date range, you must enter a space between the dates. For example, using the same example, you would type 2/1 followed by a space and 2/15.
Note: If you limit by dates and are limiting the data to the current year, it is not necessary to enter the year. However, if you are limiting the data to the previous year, you must specify the year by which you are limiting, 06 or 05, for example. In this case, you would enter 2/1/06 followed by a space and 2/15/06.
The following example illustrates how to use the Contain filtering option. To retrieve all customer accounts containing the word Office, click the Name box and type Office. Then, select the to the right of the Name box and choose Contains. The system limits the information to include only those records where the word Office appears -- Office Warehouse Supply, Warehouse Office Supply, or Supply Warehouse Office.
Some pages let you further limit your search by Last Order Date. For example, you could limit to orders dating from 2/1 through 2/15. Once you have set the date range, select beside the Last Order Date box and choose Between.
Some Web pages also let you limit using check boxes. To limit using a check box, type True or False and select the Equal To option. True limits to include checked records while False limits to include un-checked records. An example of a check box limit could include limiting to only approved orders. To do so, click the Approved box and type True. Then select beside the Approved box and choose Equal To. To not limit by approved orders, click the Approved box and type False and then select the Equal To option.
The Following Filtering Options are Available when Limiting:
No Filter: Removes the current limit and clears the corresponding text box.
Contains: Limits to records containing the specified text, Office, for example.
Does Not Contain: Limits to records that do not contain the specified text.
Starts With: Limits to records beginning with the specified text, OF, for example.
Ends With: Limits to records ending with the specified text, CE, for example.
Equal To: Limits to records that exactly matches the text you enter.
Not Equal To: Limits records that do not match the text you enter.
Greater Than: Limits to data that is greater than the information you enter. For example, if you enter 3, the system would limit to numbers greater than 3.
Less Than: Limits to data that is less than the information you enter. For example, if you enter 3, the system would limit to numbers less than 3.
Greater Than Or Equal To: Limits to data that includes or is greater than the information you enter. For example, if you enter 3, the system would limit to the number 3 as well as numbers greater than 3.
Less Than Or Equal To: Limits to data that includes or is less than the information you enter. For example, if you enter 3, the system would limit to the number 3 as well as numbers less than 3.
Between: Limits to data between the information you enter. For example, the order date range 2/1 through 2/15 would limit the orders to include only those with the dates you specified.
Not Between: Limits to data not between the information you enter. For example, 2/1 through 2/15 would limit the data to not include information for the dates specified.
Is Null: Limits records that have no data in the column. For example, date columns not containing any dates are considered Null columns.
Is Not Null: Includes records that have data in the column.
Is Empty: Limits records that have no data in the column or for which the data is blank. For example, name columns not containing any names are considered Empty columns.
Is Not Empty: Includes records that have data in the column.
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