Tips on Defining Filters

These tips apply whether you choose to use the Filter Builder or manually define a filter.

Contains vs. Is Equal To or =

Because SharePoint sometimes stores data differently than the way it is displayed, you may find that you get better results from your filters when you use the "contains" operator instead of "is equal to" or “=”.

For example, you may see the name "Bob Smith" in a list item that includes the Assigned To field. However, SharePoint stores this name with extra characters, so the actual stored value may be something like "3;#Bob Smith." Therefore, if you want to filter on records that were assigned to Bob, you will get the desired results if you build the filter with the "contains" operator.

Using Yes/No Columns vs. Choice Columns with Yes/No Options

It is important to understand the difference between Yes/No columns and Choice columns with Yes and No options.

When you use a Yes/No column, SharePoint stores a “True” value when the field is selected and leaves it blank when it is not selected. As a result, if you want to filter on a Yes/No column, you need to set the filter to look for the appropriate value:

To filter on a selected (Yes) value, the filter would be:
            column is equal to True (using the Filter Builder)
                   OR
            column=True (manually defining the filter)
(replace “column” with the name of your column)

To filter on a non-selected (No) value, the filter would be:
            column is not equal to True (using the Filter Builder)
                   OR
            column<>True (manually defining the filter)

When you use a Choice column with Yes and No options, the filter should be defined as:
            column is equal to value (using the Filter Builder)
                   OR
            column=value (manually defining the filter)