Using Screen Filters

You may view a subset of the data shown on the screen by using built-in filters. For example, you may want to view only last month's deals in your Deal History list . To do so, you would use the filters at the bottom of the Deal History list screen to select only deals with deal dates from last month. When you apply the filter, the Deal History list will narrow down to show only last month's deals.

The notion of filters is important to understand because the software uses the data showing on the screen at the time when you view a custom-designed report. When you run your custom report, only data from the items showing on-screen will be considered for inclusion into your reports. For example, suppose you create a custom inventory report to show a year, make, and model of your vehicles. If you run this report while listing only current inventory on your screen, your report will contain a listing of the year, make, and model for only your current vehicles. If you run the exact same report while using the filters to list all inventory that has ever been entered into the software, then your report will contain a listing of the year, make, and model for all vehicles your software has ever encountered.

Note: The filter options available to you depend upon the currently displayed screen. The Inventory List screen deals with vehicles, so the filter options on this screen will pertain primarily to vehicles and their various costs and options. The Deal History list will have filter options which pertain primarily to deals and their financial information.

Saving Filters for Later Use

If you have certain filter criteria you use over and over, you may create and save a filter for later use rather than retyping the same criteria each time you want to filter your data. After you have entered your filter criteria, simply name and save the filter. The filter will be kept in the database for future use, and you can use this filter any time by selecting it from the Saved Filters pull-down list box.