How to search, filter, group and save searches

To find records in any Viindoo list, kanban or report, type a keyword in the search bar and pick the field to search in. Click the caret at the right of the search bar (Toggle Search Panel) to apply Filters, Group By fields and saved Favorites. Save a search you use often with Save current search, so you or your whole team can reopen it in one click.

Who	Any user.
App	All apps (the examples below use Contacts)

Before you start

• Have a Viindoo database: see How to sign up and create your Viindoo instance.

How do I find a menu quickly?

1. Click the Home Menu grid icon in the top left corner and start typing, for example contact. Viindoo lists the matching menus of all your apps; click one to open it.

How do I search records by a field?

1. Type a keyword in the search bar at the top of the view. Viindoo suggests the fields that can contain it, for example Search Name for, Search Email for or Search Related Company for. Pick the one you mean and press Enter.

2. Some suggestions have an arrow. Click it to see the matching values and pick an exact one.

Each choice is shown as a tag (a facet) in the search bar. Click the x on a facet to remove it.

How do I use a ready-made filter?

1. Click the caret at the right of the search bar (Toggle Search Panel). The Filters column lists the filters of the view, for example Persons or Companies in Contacts. Click one to apply it; click it again to remove it.

Filters in the same block of the Filters column are combined with or (records that match either filter); filters from different blocks are combined with and (records must match both).

How do I create a custom filter?

Use a custom filter when no ready-made filter matches what you need.

1. In the search panel, click Custom Filter… at the bottom of the Filters column. You can also type a keyword in the search bar and click Custom Filter… at the end of the suggestions.

2. In the Custom Filter window, choose the field, the operator and the value of the rule (see the table below). To include archived records, switch on Include archived.

3. To add another rule, click New Rule.

4. With several rules, click all or any in Match … of the following rules to switch between them: all keeps the records that match every rule (the default), any keeps the records that match at least one rule.

5. Click Search. The custom filter is applied together with the filters already in the search bar (records must match all of them).

Operator	What it finds
is equal to / is not equal to	Records whose field is (or is not) the value you choose. Pick several values to match any of them.
contains / does not contain	Records whose field includes (or does not include) the text you type, anywhere in it.
starts with	Records whose text field begins with the text you type.
is set / is not set	Records where the field is filled in (or empty). No value is needed.

The icons at the end of a rule help you build more complex filters:

• Add nested rule (branch icon): adds a group of nested rules with its own all / any choice, for example country is Vietnam and (city contains Hanoi or city contains Hai Phong). Inside a group, the plus icon adds one more rule.

• Trash icon: removes the rule or the group.

How do I group records?

1. In the search panel, click a field in the Group By column, for example Company. Click another field, for example Country, to split each group further. The order you click is the order of the levels. Click a group in the list to open it.

2. To group by a field that is not listed, choose it in Custom Group at the bottom of the Group By column.

How do I save a search to reuse or share?

1. Set up the search, filters and groups you want, then in the Favorites column click Save current search. Enter a name, tick Default filter if the search must apply every time you open the view, and click Save.

2. Your saved search now appears in Favorites. Click it to apply it. A saved search is available only to you.

3. To change a saved search, point at its name, click the pencil icon and edit the form. In Shared with, choose the users who can use it; leave it empty to share it with all users. To delete it, open the form, click the gear icon next to its name, choose Delete and confirm.

Common problems

Problem	What to do
The list is empty or shows fewer records than expected.	Look at the facets in the search bar: a default filter may still be applied. Remove the facets you do not need.
A custom filter with several rules returns too few records.	The rules are matched with all by default. Switch to any to keep the records that match at least one rule.
A saved search is missing for a colleague.	A saved search is private. Open it, click the pencil icon and choose the colleague in Shared with, or empty the field to share it with everyone.

Next steps

• Views and reports: which view should I use?: switch between list, kanban, pivot and graph views of the filtered records.

• How to export and import data in Viindoo: export the filtered records to a spreadsheet.