Appboard/2.6/builder/widgets/actions/apply a server side filter to a data collection

The "Apply a Server Side Filter to a Data Collection" Action will apply a server-side filter to a Data Collection when a User clicks to invoke the Action in a Widget. This Action is provided to empower Users to control the data that they are viewing to meet their current needs. The Data Collection that is filtered does not need to be the Data Collection that is driving the selected Widget. Thus, it is possible to click in one Widget and have this Action filter the presentation of other Widgets.


Typically, a server-side filter will initially take longer to execute than a client-side filter. But once the filter has been applied, it will result in better overall performance because there is less data being subsequently passed from the server to the client.

For general information about filters and filtering data in AppBoard, see the Filtering Overview page.


How To Add Actions To A Widget

For instructions on adding an Action to a Widget, see the general instructions in How To Create an Action in a Widget.


How To Configure the Apply a Server Side Filter to a Data Collection Action

Perform the following steps to configure an "Apply a Server Side Filter to a Data Collection" Action:


  1. Follow the instructions above to create the Action in the Widget Actions panel.
  2. Name: Enter a name for this Action. For convenience, a default name is provided. The Name is not used anywhere else in AppBoard, and only displayed on this configuration page.
  3. On selection of:
    1. Select "any" or "specific" for the type of data selection by the User that will trigger the Action. When selecting "specific", perform the following additional steps:
      1. Click the Filter button. The Filter Editor is displayed.
      2. Click Add Rule to create one or more rules that indicate what data should trigger the Action, when selected.
      3. Click Close to save the Filter settings.
    2. Select the Data Source name. When the Widget is run, selection of data in this Data Source will trigger the Action.
  4. Filter data collection: Select the name of the data collection to be filtered.
  5. Click Add Rule to add the filter. Select one of the following from the list of options:
  6. Checking the Show Clear Filter Button on Widget box will provide a button on the Widget that the User can click, after the filter is invoked, to stop the filter from being applied and show the original full Data Collection.
    • From the drop-down list, select the name of the Widget on which you want to display the Clear Filter button.
    • Clear Label Button Field indicates what value should be used for the label that will be shown on the clear button.
  7. Click Close to exit the Widget Actions panel and return to the Builder.
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If the data collection assigned to a widget changes it will try to automatically upgrade the action to continue to work. If that is unsuccessful the configuration of the action may need to be re-edited to work.

Sample Use Case

Suppose that a particular User will only be concerned with data from a specific location that they select on a map. When the User clicks the location on the map, you can apply a Server Side Filter Action to only return data from that location. Applying the filter on the server side will reduce the amount of data that needs to be subsequently passed between the server and client for locations about which this User is not concerned.