Working with Enhanced Filter Editors in the ActiveReports End-User Report Designer

As organizations collect more data than ever before, the ability to filter that data efficiently becomes essential to making informed decisions. Whether you’re running a small business or managing enterprise-level operations, narrowing down large datasets to extract meaningful insights is a critical part of everyday analysis.

The ActiveReports.NET Web Report Designer provides a significantly improved filter editor, giving business users the power to define complex filters on their own, without waiting on developer assistance.

Why Filtering Matters to Business Stakeholders

Effective data filtering isn’t just a technical need; it directly influences strategic insight. Here are just a few ways stakeholders benefit:

• Filter by time: Focus on the current year to analyze the most relevant data.
• Filter by geography: Examine data by country, region, or city for localized insights.
• Filter by demographics or KPIs: Drill into specific income brackets, age groups, or performance targets.
• Apply dynamic filters: Use parameters that adapt to project-specific needs.

Thanks to the enhanced filter editor in the ActiveReports.NET Web Report Designer, all this is available in a more intuitive interface, making complex filtering accessible to every report consumer.

Ready to check it out our latest update? Download ActiveReports.NET Today!

Intuitive Filtering in the ActiveReports Web Report Designer

The filter editor enables end-users to build complex query filters using a visually structured, user-friendly interface directly within the designer. Users can create rule groups, nest conditions, and apply logical operators like AND and OR, no code needed.

Whether you're applying filters at the dataset level to reduce backend processing or refining visibility on a report's data region (like a Table or Tablix), the intuitive interface ensures flexibility and ease of use.

Let’s walk through a real-world example to explore what the filtering system can do.

Real-World Use Case: Sales Filtering by Store and Benchmark

Imagine a company storing multi-location sales data in a single database. At the end of the fiscal year, leadership needs to identify which products outperformed location-specific sales benchmarks.

Here’s a simplified version of the SQL that represents the logic:

Select * From ProductSales  
where  
YearOfSales = #CurrentYear  
AND  
(  
       (StoreID = #Store1 AND Sales > #Target1)  
OR  
       (StoreID = #Store2 AND Sales > #Target2)  
)

We’ll now recreate this logic visually using the enhanced filter editor in the ActiveReports.NET Web Report Designer.

Exploring the Filter Editor Interface

Getting started is easy:

1. Select a dataset or a control like a Table or Tablix.

2. Open the Filter Editor via the Properties panel by clicking "Add."

3. You'll now see an interface where you can manage your filter conditions more intuitively.

Key Features of the Enhanced Filter Editor

• Logical Operators ("All of" / "Any of")

          Apply AND/OR logic across filters

• • "All of" returns results only when all conditions are met
  • "Any of" returns results when any condition is met

• Add Conditions and Groups
  • Define filter rules using fields, constants, expressions, or parameters 

• • Nest filters using groups to replicate SQL parentheses logic 

• • Group trees visually display hierarchies and operator relationships

• Dynamic Parameters
  • Create or reuse report parameters within the filter editor
  • No need to switch panels, just click "New Parameter" and configure it on the spot

• User-Friendly UI Tools
  • Drop-down menus for common operators

• • Easy removal of individual conditions or entire groups without disrupting others

There’s no restriction on the number of rules or groups, giving you unmatched flexibility for building dynamic, real-world-ready queries.

Building the Filter Query: Step-by-Step

Let’s recreate our earlier SQL logic step by step. To follow the steps, you can use the attached report in your End-User Designer for web implementation.

Step 1. Filter by Year

1. Select your Table control and open the Filter Editor.
2. Add a filter rule on the YearOfSales field.
3. Use the expression {Year(DateTime.Now())} to dynamically filter data from the current year.

Step 2. Add a Top-Level Group

1. Beneath the Year rule, click Add → Add Group.
2. This group will house sub-groups for the store-specific sales logic.
3. Keep the default "All of" operator to ensure both Year and sub-group conditions must be met.

Step 3. Add Sub-Groups for Store Logic

1. Inside the top-level group, add two sub-groups, one for each store.

2. In the first sub-group:

• • Add a rule for StoreID = Store1
  • Add a second rule for Sales >= [Target1], using a parameter.

3. Repeat for the second sub-group:

• • StoreID = Store2
  • Sales >= [Target2]

4. Set the logical operator between these two sub-groups to "Any of" (OR).

The visual hierarchy should now mirror your SQL query, letting the report return sales for the current year where either store exceeded its target.

Finalizing and Previewing Your Report

Once you save the filter settings, the report dynamically adjusts to reflect the filtered results. For instance, with target values of 50,000 and 15,000 for Store1 and Store2, the final report displays only the qualifying product records.

Conclusion

The filter editor in the ActiveReports.NET Web Report Designer empowers end-users to manage complex filtering scenarios independently. With its modern interface and rich feature set, including hierarchical grouping, logical operators, and dynamic parameter support, business teams can surface the exact data they need, when they need it.

If you’re ready to put the filter editor to work in your web-based reports, download the latest version of ActiveReports and explore the samples on GitHub. Need help? Our support team is always here to guide you.

Ready to check it out our latest update? Download ActiveReports.NET Today!