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Quick Filter Rows on Admin Lists

A list opened from an Admin Panel item can show a row of one-click filter boxes above the grid: one box per value of a chosen field, such as each status or each site. Staff narrow the list with a single click instead of opening a column filter, which suits queues that are worked by status every day.

Where to find it

There is no separate screen. The filter row is switched on in the action of the Admin Panel item that opens the list:

Architect Panel → Layout & Pages:

  • Admin Panel Builder — categories, then View Items on a row, then the item's action

Which fields can be used

  • Dropdown fields linked to another datastore (single or searchable): one box per linked record.
  • Pills: one box per pill title.
  • Conditional (miniform) fields: one box per option.
  • Date and date and time fields: a From and To pair with Apply and Clear, rather than boxes.

Any other type, including a toggle switch, a tickbox or a plain text field, draws nothing at all: the list looks normal and the only trace is a line in the error log saying the type "is not currently supported as a filter field". If a yes/no field needs a filter row, convert it to pills first; a pills field stores its choice as 0, 1 and so on, so a toggle's existing values carry over.

Switching it on

  1. Note the row name of each field to filter on, from the datastore's Fields list.
  2. In the Admin Panel Builder, open the category, then View Items, and edit the item that opens the list.
  3. At the end of the page address inside its action, add &filters= followed by the row names, comma-separated, for example &filters=status,site.
  4. Optionally add &filtertype=dropdown to show each filter as a drop-down list instead of boxes. Boxes (pill) are the default.
  5. Save, reopen the Admin Panel item and check the row appears.

The same works on lists opened from a user input view's stage list, and the filter keeps the stage you were looking at.

How it behaves

  • Each field draws its own row: its label, a View All box, and one box per value. The selected box is highlighted green.
  • Clicking a box reloads the list showing only that value. Choices on different fields combine.
  • One value per field at a time; View All clears that field's choice.

This is a different feature from the funnel on each column heading, which offers operators such as "contains" on any column. The filter row offers one click on a few chosen fields.

What goes wrong and how to tell

  • No row appears: the field type is not supported, or the row name is misspelt. Check the error log for "is not currently supported as a filter field" or "cannot be found".
  • The row worked, then disappeared: somebody edited the item's action and dropped the parameters.

Worked example

A placements team works an Applications list by induction status. Induction Status was a toggle, so the architect converts it to pills titled "Not confirmed" and "Confirmed", which keeps every existing value. They add &filters=inductionstatus to the end of the Admin Panel item's action. Co-ordinators now see "View All", "Not confirmed" and "Confirmed" above the list and clear the outstanding inductions with one click each morning.

Recommendations

  • Use it for the field people sort their work by: status, site, owner.
  • Keep to one or two fields; each adds a row of boxes.
  • Use drop-downs for fields with many values.
  • Check the error log if a row you added does not appear.