Learn how to use the filter bar to create convenient personal filters that anyone can use without disrupting their collaborators.
With the filter bar feature, it's now easier for teams to collaborate in the same doc, on the same page, and even on the same table without disrupting others. The filter bar allows you to filter against multiple criteria as well as revert back to your default criteria consistently, simply with the click of a button. And the filter bar acts as a personal filter, so you can adjust the criteria without affecting anyone else’s view.
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What is the filter bar?
The filter bar is great way to set up dynamic filters that anyone can quickly use to filter data just for themselves. These filters appear directly directly above the table, beneath the table title. Users can easily locate, click, and modify these filters to instantly change how the table data is filtered.
For example, if multiple members of the product team are working out of the same table, one person might want to see projects that are marked as high priority and off track, yet another team member might want to view projects marked low priority and on track. The filter bar allows both team members to choose their desired criteria, without impacting each other’s view.
Add columns to the filter bar
There are few different ways to get started with adding columns to the the filter bar.
If you want to add filters for a bunch of columns at once, follow these steps:
Hover over the table, and click on Options in the upper right
Select Filter from the list
Beneath the +Add filter button, toggle on the Enable filter bar option
You’ll then see a list of table columns appear. A few columns will be added to filter bar by default. But you can easily customize which columns you want to include or exclude. Click on the eye icon to either hide or show each column in the filter bar.
If you want to add columns to the filter bar one at a time, follow these steps:
Right-click on the column header of the column in question
Find Filter in the list of options, and hover over it
Then choose Add to filter bar from the options
That’s it! You should now see some interactive filters appear above the table for each of the columns you selected. Now you can start clicking into these filters and selecting values. The table will instantly filter (only for yourself) according to the criteria you set.
Set default filter values
Once you’ve added to the filter bar, you have the option to set a default value for each column filter. If you set a default value, then everyone who visits the table will see the table filtered based on this default criteria. They can still change the criteria from there, affecting only their own view.
For example, if you have 10 projects but only 5 are currently being worked on, you might want to set a default filter so that everyone who visits the table sees only those 5 active projects.
To set a default filter value for a column in the filter bar, follow these steps:
Hover over the table, and click on Options in the upper right
Select Filter from the menu
Beneath the Enable filter bar option, you should see a list of columns that are currently in the filter bar. Click the gear icon to the right of the column for which you want to set a default filter.
Add the default filter as you see fit.
Now when anyone views this table for the first time (or revisits it), this default filter will automatically apply for them. They can then make individual changes for themselves if needed. If they need to reset back to the default filter criteria, they simply need to click the x button in the filter bar.
Remove columns from filter bar
To remove any columns from the filter bar, follow these steps:
Hover over the table, and click on Options (in the upper-right corner). Then select Filter from the menu.
Beneath the Enable filter bar option, you’ll see a list of all included columns under Visible. To remove a column from the filter bar, just click the eye icon next to the column in this list.
Share page link with filter bar values
In addition to setting default values for filter bars, you can also generate page links that will open the page with filter bar values pre-set. For instance, let's say you have a table of tasks for several different teams. Maybe you want to create one page link that opens the page with the table filtered to only Team A tasks, while also creating a different link that opens the page with only Team B tasks showing. No problem!
To create a page link with pre-set filter values, start by adjusting the filters to their desired state on the page. Once that's done, head to the page list along the left edge of the screen, click the three-dot menu next to the current page name, hover over Copy link to page, and select Copy link with values. The link will be copied to your clip board, and you can share it as needed.
Note that this functionality only applies to personal filters, including the filter bar and personal controls. Viewers can adjust the personal filters as desired after opening the page.
FAQs
If one team member uses the filter bar, does this change what data is shown in the table just for them?
Yes! Team members can choose any criteria they’d like, and changes in the table will only be reflected for them — other team members will not see any. Any default criteria will apply to all team members, meaning every member of the team will see the same data if they reset the filter bar (by clicking on the x button).
If I make a view of a table that contains a filter bar, will the filter bar transfer over?
If you want your table view to contain the same filter bar, copy and paste the table, and it will be visible.
How does the reset button work?
The reset button will appear as a x button in your filter bar, to the right of all the columns. When you click this button, the filter bar returns to the returns to the default setting and the table filters accordingly (though only for you - your teammates are not affected). If you set default options, clicking the reset button will revert you back to those. Otherwise, it will clear all the filters.
Are there other ways of filtering tables and views?
Yes! The filter bar is just one method for filtering tables and views. If you want to learn about all the options available, check out this article.