To be able to filter all items in a List view - for example if you are using:
Table 1: Projects
Table 2: Tasks
Table 3 Subtasks
I would like to be able to filter all three levels based on the status so that I can easily hide all those Projects / Tasks / Subtasks that are complete
How does is solve the user problems?
It would help increase functionality of the List view.
It is possible to configure filters on all three levels in List view today. You can change what level you are configuring filters for with this dropdown:
From your post, it might also be possible that you're trying to filter out Projects based on what child Tasks are filtered out. This can be achieved by setting the setting for "Sections with no additional rows" to "Hide section". I've included a screenshot of where to find this setting below as well.
@DavidW I'm running into this need, specifically in Interface Designer version of List View. As far as I can tell, there is no way to do this without "baking it in" to the interface itself. This is no good, because if someone accidentally completes a task and then changes their mind, they would lose access to the task entirely. Yikes.
My use-case is I'm looking to migrate my creative agency from ClickUp to AirTable by building a PM system within Interface Designer. I have a hierarchy of Level 3: Clients, Level 2: Projects, Level 1: Tasks. Source table: Projects. I would like a simple way to add a toggle to "Hide Done Tasks". Here's what I've tried:
Adding a dropdown filter, but filters only seem to reference level 2: Projects; no dice 😕
Adding a button, but there is no option to simply configure a button to be a toggle for filters, aka tasks complete / not complete ☹️
Resorting to a custom filter, which isn't even good UX for an end user as it requires multiple clicks to turn on and off, and that doesn't even work because again, it only seems to apply to the source table: projects 😩
While I don't expect nor do I need ALL the bells and whistles of a specialized Project Management system, this use-case seems pretty universal. Even the most basic of PM or Task Management tools have a toggle to show/hide complete. Unless I'm missing something (which I really hope I am), this may halt our migration in its tracks. Which would be really unfortunate, because Interface Designer has otherwise been looking like exactly what we need to build the tool of my dreams. Any solution to this?
Hi Brian, this feature is also available in interfaces (screenshot below) but you're correct that this is not something that we allow someone that's just viewing an interface to modify.
Where to find "hide empty sections" in the interface properties panel:
Based on your description I would recommend one of the two following approaches:
1. Change your "Source" for the List element to the tasks table. You can do this by modifying the source in the "Users can see" section:
This will allow you to set up dropdown filters for "Tasks". Currently we only support setting up dropdown filters on the "source" level in the List.
2. If you can't change the source level (because you need to do filtering on "Projects" or "Clients" using dropdown filters too), then you can consider making a separate Page in your interface for users to see and filter their tasks in this way. I agree it's annoying to have to make multiple List views, but this might also help separate out the multiple different jobs users want to do in the view (seeing and changing their tasks vs. seeing all the projects in a campaign).
With separate pages, you'll want to do #1 again - change the source on each list view to match what you want to allow filtering on.
Hope this helps! I'll convey your feedback around only having filters on the source level to the team.
Thanks for the workaround. I think this could work for now.
I've got to say, the potential of Interface Designer is HUGE for small businesses looking to consolidate tools. Is AirTable looking to iron out kinks like this in the near future? I know there is no public road map, but I would love to know more about what to expect around the corner as we're sitting on the fence about committing to making a full migration.
We are certainly invested in improving the usability of interfaces going forward. On the topic of this specific issue, we are actively thinking about how to evolve the table layout in interfaces to work better with hierarchical and connected data. I hope we can share more concretely about it soon!
@DavidW, I would like to add to this request. I'd like to see the option to select the level at which you filter in the Tab configuration within Interfaces.
In my use case, I have Level 2: Events and Level 1: Registrations. I want to use Tabs to filter Events based on the associated organization. Right now, I can only use the tabs to filter my lowest level. In this case, it means I have to filter by a field in Registrations. I can use a Lookup field to pull the associated organization from the linked Event, but filtering by the Lookup field does not hide the Events that aren't associated with that organization. It only hides the Registrations. If I configure the List to hide "Sections with no additional rows", it hides Events that don't have any linked Registrations. In this case, I'd like to see all Events associated with the organization, even if they don't yet have any linked registrations.
My workaround is to create a separate List page for each associated organization and configure each page to filter by Level 1: Events, as you've suggested above. This works, but I would prefer to be able to use the Tab navigation feature, which is a bit more intuitive for users to find rather than having to jump to a new page.
@DavidWI would like to join this request. Unfortunately, it is totally frustrating that there is no possibility to combine the filters in the interface. I have helped myself by adding lookup fields on the lower level (which cannot be filtered). However, these are a huge hindrance to clarity and I give my users the information twice. If there was at least the possibility to hide these lookup fields in the interface UI...
Hi @Jamie_Whoolery, unfortunately we still only support filtering at the source level of the list element, so the tabs will only work for one of the levels (Events or Registrations) but not both. You can define additional filters in the properties panels for other levels, but these can't be changed with tabs or dropdowns. We're still looking to improve this in the future.
We have recently made it more discoverable to construct interfaces where the source is not the bottommost level. Now when you create a new list element, you can use the new "Add level below" button to add a level below the source level, instead of having to change the source level.
@phil_wa there are improvements to filtering on additional columns in the works. For now, I believe it's possible to filter on any column that is visible in an expanded record detail view, in addition to the columns you make visible in the list view. So in your case, you could possibly work around this by making your lookup visible in the sidesheet for that record. We know this is confusing and hope to have a better experience for this soon.
@DavidWThank you for the info. That is exactly how I have currently implemented it. Unfortunately, this is not optimal and I have to display a lot of information twice to my employees, which massively restricts the clarity. I'm looking forward to AirTable improving this.
@phil_wa to follow up here - we just rolled out the ability to add tab and dropdown filters on hidden fields. You should no longer should need to show this information unnecessarily just to filter on it.
