Searching, sorting, and filtering are powerful tools in Business Central that help users work more efficiently with lists and records. Understanding how these features work can make it easier to locate information, create personalized views, and manage large amounts of data.

Search vs. filter vs. sort

Search is broad and scans visible fields on a page. It is not case-sensitive and quickly returns matching records. Filter is more precise and can be applied to specific fields, including those that are not visible on the page. Filters support a variety of operators that help narrow results. Sort organizes records in ascending or descending order based on the selected column.

Search modifiers

Business Central supports several wildcard modifiers that help refine search results:

• * after a term searches for records that begin with that value.
• * before a term searches for records that end with that value.
• 'term' searches for an exact match.

These modifiers allow users to quickly narrow large result sets without applying filters.

Opening the filter pane

The filter pane can be opened in several ways:

1. Select the filter icon.
2. Use a column menu and choose Filter.
3. Use Filter to this value from a column menu.
4. Press Shift + F3.

Text filtering

By default, text filters look for exact matches. Adding the @ symbol makes the filter case insensitive.

Examples:

• Man returns only an exact match.
• @Man* returns values that start with "Man" regardless of capitalization.

The ? character can replace a single unknown character when you're unsure of a spelling.

Saving views

After applying filters, you can save the results as a custom view. Saved views help users quickly return to frequently used filters, such as:

• Specific vendors
• Vendors with balances due
• State-specific records
• Department-focused data

Views can also be shared with other users when appropriate.

Numeric filtering

Several operators are commonly used when working with account numbers and other numeric fields.

Range operator

Use two periods to define a range: 10000..19999

This displays all values within the specified range.

OR operator

Use the vertical bar (|) to return multiple specific values: 10001|20001|61990

AND operator

Use the ampersand (&) to combine conditions: 1*&*5* This returns records that start with 1 and contain a 5 somewhere in the value.

Comparison operators

Business Central also supports:

• Not equal to (<>)
• Greater than (>)
• Greater than or equal to (>=)
• Less than (<)
• Less than or equal to (<=)

These operators can be used to further refine numeric results.

Filter tokens

Filter tokens replace special keywords with dynamic values. One common token is: %me

When used in fields such as Assigned User ID, the filter automatically applies to the current user. This makes it easy to create and share personalized views without hard-coding user IDs.

Filtering blank fields

To display records with blank values, use: ''

For example, applying this filter to a Phone Number field will return records where no phone number has been entered.

Key takeaway

Business Central's search, sorting, and filtering capabilities provide users with flexible ways to find and organize information. By using operators, wildcards, ranges, and filter tokens, users can create highly targeted views and work more efficiently with their data.