Filtering by text field: Include blank fields/empty fields with "Does Not Contain"
One would think that "Contains" and "Does Not Contain" would be mutually exclusive AND that together they would include all records. Turns out that this is not the case, and that there is a third category of field (blank) which logically seems as if it should be a part of the "Does Not Contain" criteria. Since "Is Blank" is a filter option, I can't imagine why this change would be objectionable.
In addition, the fact that "Does Not Contain" does not operate this way has caused me to create numerous views that simply leave out records that surely should qualify. On top of that, the fact that I now need to add "Is Not Blank" to my "Does Not Contain" filters makes the risk of error and the work involved in creating already complex filters even more complex.
Would be very happy to discuss. This applies very strongly to other similar field filters. Contains and Does Not Contain should cover ALL records.
I wish I could assign more votes to this. Many of my views now need a total rework to accommodate this.
Happy to discuss if the need is not evident.
Mike Pickering
shared this idea
2 comments
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Mike Pickering
commented
Ha, so many ways to reach you Mariya! Thanks for being so responsive, through all of the modes of communication. Will call shortly.
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Mariya
commented
Hi Mike,
Thank you for reaching out! At this time, the 'Does Not Contain' filter option is designed in a way to only check fields with data in them, and as blank fields technically do not contain any data at all, they would neither 'contain', nor 'not contain' the value the user specifies in their filter. However, I went ahead and logged a feature request with our Product team for them to review and consider altering the behavior of this functionality in a future project, to include blank fields in the 'Does Not Contain' filter criteion.
Once this feature is released to the system, you will be notified via email!
Kind Regards,
Mariya