Using filtering options in Views

You can filter and classify the data displayed on the pages of the Views tab with the help of various data filters.

For custom views, you must first enable these filters when you configure a custom view, and then use them to customize the output and display of information. 

Using page-level filters

At the page level, you can specify the following filters:

The filter that you apply to a page is preserved during the active logon session. After you re-log on, the pages display the default filters. 

You can bookmark the applied filter in your browser.

To use domain filters

1. Navigate to the required view. The available filters are displayed at the top of the view.
2. Click the action menu  next to No Domain Selected and click Select domain.

3. Select the required domains and sub-domains.
   
   

   Information

   For a custom view, if the Administrator has configured the root domain, the domain filter list displays only the subdomains of the configured root domain.

4. Click Apply.
   The view displays the entities of only the selected domains and subdomains. The selected domain names are displayed at the top of view as shown in the following image:
   
   
   

The following example illustrates how to use domain filters in a custom view:

Similarly, you can use time and time resolution filters.

To use tag filters

1. Click the action menu  next to No Tag Selected and click Select tag.
2. Select the required tags and click Apply.

Use tagging rules to associate a tag manually or automatically. You can associate multiple tags with an object. For more information about tag types and tagging rules, see Managing tags. You can also add tags to the required entities using the Generic - Tag CSV file parser ETL. For more information, see Generic - Tag CSV file parser.

To use time filters

By default, the summarization time range for all metrics is set to Last 30 days. You can select an alternate range from the following available options:

• Yesterday: Displays data for the previous day, excluding today.
• Last 7 days: Displays data for the last 7 days, excluding today.
• Last 30 days: Displays data for the last 30 days, excluding today.
• Select Time Filter: Displays a list of predefined time ranges that you can select from. For example, Last 180 days, Last 30 days, and so on.
• Define Period: Enables you to define a custom time range. Use the calendar to select the start and end dates for your custom time period. This option is not available for all views.

1. Navigate to the required view. The available filters are displayed at the top of the view. In this example, the Last 30 days time filter is the default filter used, as shown in the following image:
   

2. To view data for the last seven days, click the action menu  next to Last 30 days and click last 7 days.
   The view updates to show data only for the last seven days, as shown in the following image:
   

To use time resolution filters

The time resolution filter is available only in pages that display charts. The filter is to be used in conjunction with the Time filter to obtain detailed data in the charts.

Choose any of the following options for this filter:

• Automatic Resolution: Displays charts with a resolution that is based on the time range as selected in the Time filter:

  Time range selection	Time resolution selected
  Greater than 365 days	Monthly
  Greater than 60 days	Daily
  Greater than one day	Hourly
  For other range	Detail

  This is the default and recommended option. 

• Detail:   Displays the charts with the resolution that the ETL used to populate data in the domain. For example, for a VMware vSphere view, the ETL populates data every 15 minutes. By selecting Detail time resolution, you can display the charts with data points for every 15 minutes. 
• Hourly: Displays charts with a data point for every hour.
• Daily: Displays charts with a data point for every day.

To use quick table filter

Values of some columns in a table are clickable and enable you to filter the table content on that value. Only columns with text values are used in the quick filter. If a table displays more than 20 columns that you can filter on, then the quick table filter is disabled. 

To use quick table filter:

1. a. Move your mouse over the column value that you want to filter the table data on.
2. b. If you see the  Filter icon next to the value, click the value. Else, the column value cannot be used as a quick filter. The table displays the data based on the applied filter.

The following example illustrates how to use quick table filter in a custom view.

Using entity type filters

Pages in the out-of-the-box or custom views that use the Data explorer or System details template enable you to select a value from the entity type filter and show data for that entity. For example, you can filter a table that lists all the clusters in your VMware infrastructure to show details for a specific cluster.

The entity type can be system or business driver type:

• System type filter: When multiple filters are configured, you can select one or more values from the parent filters and only one value from the child filter. 
• Business driver type filter: When configured, you can select only one value from the filter. 

If the view page has the subresource filter configured, you can select multiple values from that filter. 

You can use the name of a entity type filter to manage the behavior of these filters across different pages of a view. For instance, to retain the filter value while navigating across different pages of a view, set the same entity type filter name in those view pages. To ensure that filter values are different while navigating across different pages of a view, set different names for the entity type filters.

Entity type filters are available for selection only if the view page is a tabbed page in the custom view. They are not available for view pages in the full-screen mode.

To use entity type filters

Consider the following example to use the system type filter:

1. Click  the action menu next to the displayed system type filter, and click Select <filterName>.
   
2. In the Select <filterName> box that opens, a list of systems corresponding to the type, are displayed. 
   In this example, the system type filter is a Host filter that enables you to select a host from the total list. If the list is long, you can also type a string in the Search field and click Search. A list of names containing the search string is displayed and you can select the host that you require.
   Because the view page in this example has only filter configured, you can select only one value from the Host (system type) filter.
   
3. Select the required system and click Apply.
   In this case, a host is selected and the view page shows the data for the selected host.
   

Using data mart filters

For view pages that use the Summary table template in both out-of-the-box and custom views, you can use data mart filters to refine or reduce the scope of the data that is displayed on the page. Data mart filters make it easier to work on a subset of data.

In custom views, when you configure the template, you must first select the data mart filters to be able to use them.

The data mart filters are displayed on top of the summary table as shown in the following image. In this example, a Cluster filter and Host filter are displayed. You can select multiple clusters or hosts in the filter at a time.

In custom views, the number of filters displayed depend on how many filters you select, while creating the custom views.

To use data mart filters

1. Click next to the displayed filter, and click Apply <filterName> Filter.
   In this example, the Cluster ID Filter is applied.
   
2. In the Select <filterName> box that opens, a list of items corresponding to the type of filter, are displayed. 
   In this example, a list of clusters are displayed, since the Cluster Filter is applied. 
   If the list is long, you can also type a string in the Search field and click Search. A list of names containing the search string is displayed. Select the cluster that  you require.
   
3. Select one or more clusters and click Apply.
   The filtered table is displayed as shown in the following image.
    
   
   You can further filter out data by using the Host filter.