One of the features that significantly enhances the utility of IRM's user-defined Filters is the ability to use reference fields as filter Conditions. This allow the user to Filter on properties and values associated within the objects relational model.
In order to understand the benefits and drawbacks of using this feature, consider the following use case scenario:
The user wants the Object Grid to list only Equipment assigned to Circuits that pass through a specific group of Areas. The following would be the set of actions the user would need to take in order to achieve this:
Open Filter Manager, select Equipment as the desired Super Category and click on the Add Filter button in the top-right:
Search through the list of Equipment Filter Fields and select Circuits and then Areas - these are reference fields that refer to another type of object that needs to be used, in this example. So, in this example, a Circuit and Area object are going to be used in a condition for a new user-defined filter:
Notice the navigation scheme ("breadcrumb trail") in the top-left corner of the dialog indicating the order of the Filter Fields being used.
To find the Circuits within the desired Area, we select the Area's Name field and create a condition for that. Say that we want to include all Area objects that have the string "Building" in their name, the final condition would be set up as shown below:
After clicking Save in the above dialog, we are back to the Filter Properties dialog with the Condition set up as shown below:
Finally, the resulting Object Grid view with this recursive filter applied lists shows only Equipment which is assigned to Circuit objects specified to be in Areas named "building" and similar:
Editing such user-defined filters is straightforward - the filter can be edited through its Filter Properties dialog, which is opened simply by clicking on the Filter Name. Next, within the Filter Properties dialog, if the user wants to edit a condition, it can be done by clicking on the pencil icon next to the desired condition, which then opens the Edit Condition dialog. Within the dialog, the user can also click directly on the navigation scheme mentioned earlier, which will then bring the reference level down to the desired reference object.
For example, let's say instead of filtering the Circuits by the assigned Area, the user wants to see only Circuits with a specific Frequency:
To change the previously specified filter, first, select it from the list of user filters defined for Equipment object - the New Recursive Filter:
Next, click on the pencil icon next to the previously specified condition:
Next, click on the "Circuits" link on the navigation scheme in the top-left of the dialog:
Notice the same Filter Properties dialog with the same condition opens, but notice the navigation only shows the Equipment and Circuit objects and the list of Filter Fields is in fact the list of Circuit fields:
Here, select the Frequency field and specify the desired value within the Edit Condition dialog:
