Acquiring Filters

When the user clicks Acquire Filter in the process of creating a Plug-in, a pop-up appears to enable the user to locate and modify the filter.

Click the Acquire button. The following window appears:
Select a Module from the drop-down list (required).
- Notice that a basic SQL statement appears in the Database Syntax field in the middle of the dialog box.
Choose a filter using one of these two options:
1. Select an existing filter that was created in Lucity Web or Desktop.
  - Check the Use Existing Filter box. Two boxes will appear below it.
  - Choose Filter Author. A list of the user's filters for the selected module are displayed in the Filter Name list.
  - Select a filter from the Filter Name list.
  - The SQL statement for that filter appears in the large Database Syntax field. This SQL statement can then be altered without changing the filter in Lucity Web or Desktop.
2. Manually enter the SQL statement in the large Database Syntax field.
  - Modify the filter shown in this field to select the desired record set.
  - To search for and enter a Reserved Word, Table Name, or Column Name, click in the Database Syntax field where that object should go. Then, select the word, table, or column from the drop-down lists found below the Database Syntax field. The item(s) is automatically added to the SQL statement.
After creating the desired filter, click the Test "Where" button. A pop-up appears, indicating whether the statement was valid and how many records it returned.
When the filter is complete and works properly, click OK.

Restrictions: 1) Dashboard filters cannot contain ORDER BY clauses. The program will strip out the ORDER BY clause if a user attempts to use it. 2) If you use a filter to access the Desktop application, be sure that WHERE clauses are in uppercase. This is required for the Desktop application.

Select the position in the filter where the Reserved Word should appear.
Select the desired Reserved Word from the list. It is automatically added to the filter at the selected location.
Note: When using the Reserved Words, make sure to enter them in uppercase letters and enclose them in percent symbols (%) and single quotes (').

Available Reserved Words

Program *	Specifies the part of the program that the Plug-in should access. The program the user selects controls which modules appear in the Module list.
Module *	Identifies the Module associated with this Plug-in. Selecting the module causes the program to begin building the filter.
Use an Existing Filter	Enables the user to select a Filter that has already been saved in the selected Module in Lucity Desktop or Web.
Current Filter	Displays the SQL statement that the filter uses. This statement appears whether the user is manually writing the SQL or has selected a saved filter.
Select reserved word	Indicates that a reserved word should be used in the filter. Reserved words can be used to add specific types of dynamic data to the filterset. Example: If you wanted a Plug-in to show today's Work Orders, you could create a filter that said: SELECT * FROM WKORDER WHERE WO_STRT_DT = '9/26/2012'. On Sept. 26, it would show all the work orders for that day, but this would be useless on any other day, and would have to be changed daily to be useful. However, using reserved words, you could create this filter: SELECT * FROM WKORDER WHERE WO_STRT_DT = '%CURRENTDAY%'. Then, every day, the SQL would change to reflect the current day, and the Plug-in would always display Work Orders for the current day.
Test "Where"	Tests whether the SQL statement's WHERE clause is valid and indicates the number of records that the filter returns.
OK	Saves the filter and closes this window.