OmniVista 3.5.

4 Filters Help

Getting Started with Filters

Use the Filter function to search for and display the information you need to see. The Filter
function allows you to:
• Create new filters
• Edit or delete existing filters
• Apply or remove a filter
• Get a count of filtered records versus total records.
Note: Read-Only users are limited to applying and removing filters; they cannot create
new filters or delete existing filters.
The filter function appears in several OmniVista applications, including Notifications,
Topology, and Security. Filters are specific to the application in which they were created; they
are also specific to individual areas within that application. For example, in the Notifications
application you can create Trap Definition filters from the Trap Definitions window and Switch
filters from the Notifications Log window. In the Security application you can create Group
filters and User filters. In Topology, you can create filters for Links, Regions, Configurations,
and Devices.
To understand filters, first familiarize yourself with the window where the filter function is
accessed. In the illustration below, the Notifications application is used as an example. Notice
the secondary toolbar inside the main application window. This toolbar includes a "Select Filter"
button, an "Apply Filter button" (grayed out until you apply a filter), and a "Total Records
Indicator". See below for definitions of each icon.

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Select Filter Click this button to access the Filter Selection window.

The Apply Filter button is a toggle.

Click once to apply the filter .Click again to disable
the filter and re-display the complete set of unfiltered
records .
Apply Filter In the above example, the Apply Filter button is grayed
out because a filter has not yet been applied. Once a
filter is applied, this button becomes active. See Using
the Filter Selection Window for details on how to apply
a filter.

Shows the number of filtered records over the total

Total Records Indicator number of unfiltered records.

To start learning how to create and use filters, see Using the Filter Selection Window.

Using the Filter Selection Window

Use the Filter Selection Dialog window to:
• Preview a filter
• Create a new filter
• Edit a filter
• Delete a filter
• Cancel all filter operations and return to the main application window
• Apply a filter and save all the changes.

Previewing a Filter
To preview a filter from the Filter Selection Window, follow these steps:
1. Select the filter from the filter drop-down list.

2. Click the Preview button .

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Creating a New Filter

To create a new filter, follow these steps:
1. Click the New button.
2. When the Filter window opens, enter a Filter Name and Description for the new filter.
3. Define the filter criteria. For details on specifying filter criteria, see Creating and Editing
Filters.

Editing a Filter
To edit an existing filter, follow these steps:
1. Select the filter from the filter drop-down list.
2. Click the Edit button.
3. When the Filter window opens, edit the selected filter as needed. For details on how to edit a
filter, see Creating and Editing Filters.

Deleting a Filter
To delete a filter, follow these steps:
1. Select the filter from the filter drop-down list.
2. Click the Delete button. The filter is removed from the filter drop-down list. However, it is not
permanently deleted until you click Apply.
3. Click Apply to apply changes. Or click Cancel to cancel the operation and return to the main
application window.
Note: Clicking Cancel not only cancels the delete operation, but it also cancels any new
filters you may have created but not yet saved, and any edits you may have made to existing
filters.

Canceling All Filter Operations

To cancel all filter operations (including new filters, changes made during an edit session, and
filter deletions), click Cancel. The Filter Selection Window is dismissed and you return to the
main application window.

Applying a Filter and Saving Changes

Use the Apply button to:
• Apply a selected filter.
• Save new filters, save changes made during an edit session, and save filter deletions.
To apply a filter, and at the same time save any new filters, save editing changes, and save filter
deletions, follow these steps:
1. Select the filter you want to apply from the filter drop-down list.
2. Click the Apply button. The Filter Selection Window is dismissed and you return to the main
application window, where the filtered list is displayed.

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Note: You cannot apply a filter to an already filtered list. Whenever you click Apply,
you are applying a filter to the original unfiltered list.

Creating and Editing Filters

You can use the Filter Selection Dialog window to create and/or edit a filter. Follow the steps
below to create/edit a filter:
1. In the Filter Name field, enter a name for the new filter. (Required field.)
Note: Once a filter name is entered and you save the filter by doing an Apply, you cannot go
back and edit the name. To change a filter name, you will need to delete the filter, then re-create
it.
2. In the Description field, enter a brief description. (Optional field.)

3. In the Create Condition pane, define the filter criteria.

Note that the "Create Condition" fields that are available and enabled will vary depending on the
type of table being filtered. For example, the Create Condition fields that are enabled when
creating a filter for the Trap Definitions table may not be the same as those that are enabled when
creating a filter for the Groups and Users table, or the Regions List table. Individual field values
will vary as well.
Below is a description of each of the Create Condition fields and their possible values:
Join Operator. This field remains disabled until the first condition is created. Thereafter the
field becomes enabled, allowing you to "join" the first condition to the second condition and to
any subsequent conditions, using the AND and OR operators. The AND operator means that all

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conditions (A and B and C) must be met in order for the record to appear in the filtered list. The
OR operator means that at least one of the conditions (A and/or B and/or C) must be met.
Expressions are evaluated from left to right, and there is no operator precedence as there is in
"C" or Visual Basic programming. While there are no parentheses available to construct complex
expressions such as A and (B or C), the equivalent expression can be formed by defining a
condition twice, in this case A and B or A and C.
NOT Op. The value of this field is empty by default. If the “NOT” operator is selected, the
effect will be to negate the result of the condition being defined.
Column. The values in the Column drop-down list correspond to the column headings in the
table that appears in the main application window. The values will vary depending on where the
filter function was invoked from. For example, the column headings in the Trap Definitions table
in Notifications are Name, SNMP Variable, Synopsis, Agent, Agent Name, Date/Time, Severity,
and Acknowledged; therefore, those are the values in the Column drop-down list. In the Security
application, column headings for the Users table include User Login, First Name, Last Name,
and Description; hence those are the values in the Column drop-down list.
Operator. Possible values are: Contains, Begins with, Ends with, Equal, Not equal, Greater than,
Greater than or equal to, Less than, and Less than or equal to. The selection you make in the
Column field determines which operator values display. For example, if Severity is selected in
the Column field, then the operator values are Equal and Not Equal; none of the other operator
values are appropriate and therefore will not display.
SNMP Variable Name. When creating a filter in the Notifications application, if you select
SNMPVariable in the Column field, the SNMP Variable Name field appears. To find a
specific SNMP variable for a trap, select the trap in the Trap Notifications window to view all of
the SNMP variables associated with the trap. Enter the Variable Name for the filter in the SNMP
Variable Name field. To filter on a specific value within the trap, enter the value in the Value
Field.
Note: When filtering on an SNMP variable, you cannot use "Contains", "Begins with", or
"Ends with" if the SNMP variable that you're filtering on is numeric.
Case Sensitive. A checked box indicates that the filter is case sensitive. An empty box indicates
that the filter is not case sensitive. Note that the selection you make in the Column field
determines whether the Case Sensitive option is displayed. If what you selected in the Column
field requires that you input a text string into the Value field, then the Case Sensitive option will
be displayed; otherwise the Case Sensitive option is not displayed.
Value. The selection you make in the Column field determines the possible entries for the Value
field. For example, if you select Name in the Column field, you are required to enter a text string
in the Value field. If you select Time in the Column field, the Value field displays the current
date and time for you to edit. If you select Severity in the Column field, the Value field displays
a drop-down list of possible values.
4. When you are finished creating the condition, click OK. Notice that the Create Condition Pane
changes to the View Condition Pane.
5. To create another condition, click New.

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6. Assuming you have created multiple conditions, use the Join operators (AND and OR) to link
the conditions together.
7. When you are done creating the condition, click OK.
Notice that each time you create a condition, the condition displays in the Condition List.
Gradually the logical expression is formed and displays in the Expression box. In the example
below, a filter with the name ATM "Normal" filter has been created. This filter, as its
Description suggests, produces a list of all ATM traps that have a severity level of "Normal."
Two conditions have been created and they are joined by the AND operator.

8. To preview the filter, click the Preview button . Preview results display in the main
application window. For better viewing, drag the Filter Window to the side.
9. To edit a condition, select it from the Condition List, then click Edit.
10. To delete a condition, select it from the Condition List, then click Delete.
11. To cancel all filter operations, click Cancel. Otherwise, click Finish to return to the Filter
Selection Window.
12. If you want to apply your new filter immediately, select it from the Filter Selection Window
drop-down list, then click Apply. Clicking Apply will also save any other new filters you may
have created but not yet saved, any changes you made during an editing session, and any filter
deletions.