PRJ: How to Create an Interactive Filter (44582)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Project 98 for Windows
  • Microsoft Project for Windows 95 4.1
  • Microsoft Project for Windows 95 4.1a
  • Microsoft Project for Windows 1.0
  • Microsoft Project for Windows 3.0
  • Microsoft Project for Windows 3.0a
  • Microsoft Project for Windows 4.0
  • Microsoft Project for the Macintosh 1.1
  • Microsoft Project for the Macintosh 3.0
  • Microsoft Project for the Macintosh 4.0
This article was previously published under Q44582

SUMMARY

This article describes how to create an interactive filter in Microsoft Project.

MORE INFORMATION

To create an interactive filter, use the method appropriate for your version of Microsoft Project:

Microsoft Project 98

  1. Start Microsoft Project.
  2. On the Project menu, point to Filtered For, and then click More Filters.
  3. In the More Filter dialog box, click New.
  4. In the Filter Definition dialog box, in the Name box, type a name for your filter. For example, type TestFilter.

    NOTE: If you precede any letter in the filter name with an ampersand character (&), that letter will be an underlined hot key if you add the filter to a menu. Make sure that this letter is not a duplicate of another hot key.
  5. In the Field Name column, enter the criteria on which you want to base your filter. For example, in the Field Name column, type start or click the down arrow and select Start.
  6. In the Test column, type equals or click the down arrow and select Equals.
  7. In the Values column, type the text you want the user to see when this filter is applied. For example, type the following:

    "Enter the Start Date:"?

    NOTE: You must include the quotation marks around the text you type, and the question mark must be outside of the quotation marks.
To apply a second criterion to the filter, you can enter an operator in the And/Or field, and then select the second set of criteria in the next line.

Microsoft Project 4.0, 4.1

  1. Start Microsoft Project.
  2. On the Tools menu, point to Filtered For, and then click More Filters.
  3. In the More Filter dialog box, click New.
  4. In the Filter Definition dialog box, in the Name box, type a name for your filter. For example, type TestFilter.

    NOTE: If you precede any letter in the filter name with an ampersand character (&), that letter will be an underlined hot key if you add the filter to a menu. Make sure that this letter is not a duplicate of another hot key.
  5. In the Field Name column, type the criteria on which you want to base your filter. For example, type start or click the down arrow and select Start.
  6. In the Test column, type equals or click the down arrow and select Equals.
  7. In the Values column, type the text you want the user to see when this filter is applied. For example, type the following:

    "Enter the Start Date:"?

    NOTE: You must include the quotation marks in the text you type, and the question mark must be outside of the quotation marks.
To apply a second criterion to the filter, you can enter an operator in the And/Or field, and then select the second set of criteria in the next line.

Microsoft Project versions 1.x and 3.x

  1. Start Microsoft Project.
  2. On the Filter menu, click Define Filters.
  3. Click New.
  4. In the Name box, type a name for your custom filter.

    NOTE: If you precede any letter in the filter name with an ampersand character (&), that letter will be an underlined hot key if the filter is shown in the menu. Make sure that this letter is not a duplicate of another hot key.
  5. In the Field Name column, type the criteria on which you want to base your filter. For example, type scheduled start or click the down arrow to select Scheduled Start.
  6. In the Test column, type equals or click the down arrow and select Equals.
  7. In the Values column, type the text you want the user to see when this filter is applied. For example, type the following:

    "Enter the Start Date:"?

    NOTE: You must include the quotation marks in the text you type, and the question mark must be outside of the quotation marks.
To apply a second criterion to the filter, you can enter an operator in the Op field, and then select the second set of criteria in the next line.

To define a multiple field interactive filter, use either of the following methods:

  • Enter more than one value in the Value field. For example, the following Value text causes a two-field dialog box to appear, asking for two entries:

    "Enter Start: "?,"Enter Finish: "?

    -or-

  • Enter several sequential fields by hooking sections together. To do this, enter an operator in the And/Or field in Microsoft Project 4.0, 4.1, and 98 (or the Op field in Microsoft Project versions 1.x and 3.x).

    Entering the start text in the first line followed by an AND operator and a second line containing the finish text causes Microsoft Project to first display a dialog box asking for the start, and then display a dialog box asking for the finish (project data would then be filtered according to those tasks that meet both criteria). This method can be used when you are interested in applying multiple, but disjointed, criteria to a filter, such as a start date of a task and a company name.
You may want to use these multiple criteria techniques to filter information based on a range of data.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/25/2003
Keywords:kbhowto KB44582
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