Filter Expression Operators

Operators specify the criteria a field must meet to be included or excluded from a filter.

Select one of these operators:

■ Equal to. Tests for an exact match between the field designated in Field Name and the entry in the Value field. When the data field and comparison value match, the record is selected.

Example: Selecting the field City and the Value entry Los Angeles creates the filter City Equal to “Los Angeles” that will select every record with the City entry of Los Angeles.

■ Not Equal to. Tests for a difference between the field designated in Field Name and the entry in the Value field. When the data field and comparison value match, the record is selected.

Example: Selecting the field City and the Value entry Los Angeles creates the filter City Not Equal to “Los Angeles”. Each record with the City entry of Los Angeles will not be selected. Records with City entries of any other city will.

■ Greater than. Tests for a value in the data field alpha-numerically higher than the comparison value. In a test for alphabetic entries, such as City, a higher value is one that comes after the entered value, meaning, later in the alphabet. When the data field’s value is alphanumerically higher than the comparison value, the record is selected.

Example: Selecting the file and the Value entry I creates the filter City Greater than “Los Angeles”. A record with a City entry of Pacific Palisades will be selected, but a record with a City entry of Burbank or Los Angeles will not.

■ Less than. Tests for a value in the data field alphanumerically lower than the comparison value. In a test for alphabetic entries, such as City, a lower value is one that comes before the entered value, meaning, earlier in the alphabet. When the data field’s value is alphanumerically lower than the comparison value, the record is selected.

Example: Selecting the field City and the Value entry Los Angeles creates the filter City Less Than “Los Angeles”. A record with a City entry of Glendale will be selected, but a record with a City entry of Los Angeles or Santa Monica will not.

■ Greater or Equal. Tests for a value in the data field equal to or alphanumerically higher than the comparison value. In a test for alphabetic entries, such as City, a higher value is one that comes after the entered value, meaning, later in the alphabet. When the data field’s value is alphanumerically higher than the comparison value, the record is selected.

Example: Selecting the field City and the Value entry Los Angeles creates the filter City Greater or Equal to “Los Angeles”. Any records with City entries of Los Angeles and any records with City entries that come later in the alphabet, such as Pacific Palisades, will be selected. Records with City entries that come earlier in the alphabet, such as Burbank, will not.

■ Lesser or Equal. Tests for a value in the data field equal to or alphanumerically lower than the comparison value. In a test for alphabetic entries, such as City, a lower value is one that comes before the entered value, that is, earlier in the alphabet. When the data field’s value is alphanumerically lower than the comparison value, the record is selected.

Example: Selecting the field City and the Value entry Los Angeles creates the filter City Lesser or Equal to “Los Angeles”. Any records with City entries of Los Angeles and any with City entries that come later in the alphabet, such as Glendale, will be selected. Records with City entries that come later in the alphabet, such as Santa Monica, will not.

■ Begins with. Tests for a value in the data field that starts with the comparison value. If the characters of the comparison value match the starting characters in the data field, the record is selected.

Example: The filter City I will include records in which the City entries all start with P such as Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, Pico Rivera, and so on.

■ Contains. Tests for the existence of the comparison value anywhere within the data field. If the data field contains the comparison value, the record is selected.

Example: The filter City Contains "P" will include records in which the City entries include P anywhere in the city name such as Pacific Palisades and Corpus Christie.

■ Does Not Contain. Tests for the absence of the comparison value anywhere within the data field. If the data field does not contain the comparison value, the record is selected.

Example: The filter City Does Not Contain "P" will include records in which the City entries do not include P anywhere in the city name such as New York and Los Angeles. However, Pacific Palisades and Corpus Christie will not be selected.

■ Is Empty. Tests for an absence of any entry in the specified field. Character fields are empty when they contain only spaces.

Example: If you have contacts in the United States and other countries and you want to search for only contacts in the United States—assuming you have not entered country data for domestic clients—the filter Country Is Empty will select contacts located in the United States.

■ Is Not Empty. Tests for any value in the specified field.

Example: If you want to fax an announcement to all of your client companies, the filter Fax Is Not Empty will select all companies with a telephone number entered in the Fax field.