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steve23714-Alexandrite
14-Alexandrite
January 13, 2026
Solved

Grid widget simple filter box - how does it work?

  • January 13, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 82 views

I can't find an explanation of how this filter works in order to explain to users how to use it.  If I type "abc" into it will it return all rows where any cell has a value starting with abc?

 

steve237_0-1768270548074.png

 

Best answer by steve237

thanks Rocko, but I'm not having issues with it working.  As I type values into the filter box the grows in the grid are indeed being filtered.

 

What I didn't understand is how the value typed into the box was being used by thingworx to filter the grid.  I mean, I could type "WHITE" into the filter and magically only rows having Finish Color = WHITE and then if I type F14 in the filter, the grid would update and only show rows having Product Code that starts with F14.  I didn't understand how thingworx knew which field I wanted it to filter on.

 

Like I asked in my initial post, I was guessing it was filtering on every column.  So, if any cell has a value starting with the values I type into the filter, that row would be displayed.  I did a lot more testing and found that it does filter every column but the row is displayed if any cell "contains" my value, not just "begins with".  I guess this type of filtering is broadly termed "Simple Search" or  "Linear Search" or "Sequential Search".  I learned something!  Now I understand why "Simple" is included in the heading in the help center "Adding Simple Filter Box".

 

2 replies

S
steve23714-AlexandriteAuthor
14-Alexandrite
January 13, 2026

this is from the help center, but not really helpful

steve237_0-1768270973745.png

 

R
Rocko19-Tanzanite
19-Tanzanite
January 14, 2026

It works for me, I didn't do anything else than 1) bind the datasource and 2) check the "showfilter" box.

Note this does not re-execute the service that delivers the data. It is a filter working only on the data you already loaded.

 

If you want to re-execute the service to only give you the filtered rows back, you need to use either the Chip Based Data Filter, or maybe the method described here: https://support.ptc.com/help/thingworx/platform/r10.1/en/index.html#page/ThingWorx/Help/Mashup_Builder/Widgets/SortingSearchingAndFilteringInAdvancedGridAndTreeGrid.html

 

S
steve23714-AlexandriteAuthorAnswer
14-Alexandrite
January 18, 2026

thanks Rocko, but I'm not having issues with it working.  As I type values into the filter box the grows in the grid are indeed being filtered.

 

What I didn't understand is how the value typed into the box was being used by thingworx to filter the grid.  I mean, I could type "WHITE" into the filter and magically only rows having Finish Color = WHITE and then if I type F14 in the filter, the grid would update and only show rows having Product Code that starts with F14.  I didn't understand how thingworx knew which field I wanted it to filter on.

 

Like I asked in my initial post, I was guessing it was filtering on every column.  So, if any cell has a value starting with the values I type into the filter, that row would be displayed.  I did a lot more testing and found that it does filter every column but the row is displayed if any cell "contains" my value, not just "begins with".  I guess this type of filtering is broadly termed "Simple Search" or  "Linear Search" or "Sequential Search".  I learned something!  Now I understand why "Simple" is included in the heading in the help center "Adding Simple Filter Box".

 

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