Filters in ConnectWise Report Writer
The Filters tab lets you narrow which records appear in your report. Filters work against the fields from the table or view you selected in the Data Sources tab.
How cascading filters work
Filters are cascading — each filter’s available values are limited by the selections made in the filters above it.
Example: two filters (Invoice Date Range → Company) Set Invoice Date Range to 01/01/2019–01/31/2019. Only companies with invoices in that range appear as options in the Company filter.
Example: three filters (Invoice Date Range → Invoice Type → Company) Set Invoice Date Range and Invoice Type to Credit Memo. Only companies with credit memos in that date range appear in Company.
Example: order matters With filters ordered as Invoice Date Range → Company → Invoice Type: after selecting a date range and a specific company, only the invoice types that company actually has in that period appear for Invoice Type.
Filter logic
By default, Report Writer applies all filters with AND logic — a record must match every filter to appear.
Use the Filter Logic field to override this. Enter an expression using filter numbers and logical operators:
1 OR 2— return records matching either filter 1 or filter 2(1 OR 2) AND (3 OR 4)— return records matching filter 1 or 2, and also filter 3 or 4
This is useful when you need records that meet one of several conditions — for example, invoices created this month OR paid this month.
Filter fields reference
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Filter Field | The field to filter on. Sourced from the table or view in Data Sources. When joining tables, the source table name appears in parentheses. |
| Operator | The comparison logic. Options depend on the field’s data type. See Operators below. |
| Value(s) | The value(s) to filter on. Available inputs depend on the selected operator. |
| Alias | A display name for the filter in the report viewer. Defaults to the field name if blank. |
| Blank | When selected, returns records matching the Value(s) selection plus records where the field is blank or null. Set Filter Field and Operator first; Value(s) is optional. Does not affect the Preview tab. |
| Param | When selected, shows the filter in the report viewer and lets the end user change the value. Set Filter Field, Operator, and Value(s) first. Does not affect the Preview tab. |
| Require | Forces the user to set this filter before the report runs. |
| Show Filters In Report Description | Displays active filter values in the report’s Description field when viewed in the report viewer. Appears after you select a Filter Field. |
| Require ___ Parameters in Viewer | Sets how many filter parameters a viewer user must set before running the report. Options: None (default), All, At Least One, The First, The First Two. |
To reorder filters, drag the row handle left of the row. To insert a row, use the insert icons on each row. To delete a row, select the delete icon.
Operators
Available for all field types
| Operator | Behavior |
|---|---|
... | No filter applied. |
| Blank | Matches records where the field is blank. |
| Isn’t Blank | Matches records where the field is not blank. |
| Use Previous OR | Applies the previous filter’s condition as an OR alternative for this row. |
Boolean
| Operator | Behavior |
|---|---|
| True | Matches fields where the value is 1 or true (case-insensitive). |
| False | Matches fields where the value is anything other than 1 or true. |
Comparison (numeric)
| Operator | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Is Less Than | Values less than the input. |
| Is Greater Than | Values greater than the input. |
| Between | Values within the input range. |
| Isn’t Less Than | Values not less than the input. |
| Isn’t Greater Than | Values not greater than the input. |
| Isn’t Between | Values outside the input range. |
Date & Time
| Operator | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Equals (Calendar) | Select a single date from a calendar picker. |
| Doesn’t Equal (Calendar) | All dates except the selected date. |
| Between (Calendar) | Select a start and end date from a calendar picker. |
| Isn’t Between (Calendar) | All dates outside the selected range. |
| In Time Period | Select from a list of named time periods (e.g., This Month, Last Quarter). |
| Less Than Days Old | Records where the date field is fewer than N days ago. |
| Greater Than Days Old | Records where the date field is more than N days ago. |
| Equals Days Old | Records where the date field is exactly N days ago. |
Equivalence
| Operator | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Equals | Manual text entry. Separate multiple values with commas. |
| Equals (List) | Manual text entry with intelligent delimiter parsing. Use consistent delimiters: 1, 2, 3 or 1-2-3 or 1 2 3. |
| Equals (Autocomplete) | Displays suggestions as you type. Separate values with commas. |
| Equals (Select) | Single value from a drop-down list. |
| Equals (Multiple) | Multiple values from a scrollable list. Use Ctrl+click or Cmd+click to select more than one. |
| Equals (Popup) | Multiple values from a pop-up checklist. |
| Equals (Checkboxes) | Multiple values from a scrollable checklist. |
| Doesn’t Equal | Manual text entry. Returns records not matching the input. |
| Doesn’t Equal (Select) | Single value from a drop-down. Returns non-matching records. |
| Doesn’t Equal (Multiple) | Multiple values from a scrollable list. Returns non-matching records. |
| Doesn’t Equal (Popup) | Multiple values from a pop-up checklist. Returns non-matching records. |
Note: The Select, Multiple, Popup, and Checkboxes equivalence operators have a result-count limit that varies by environment. If your list is truncated, switch to Equals (Autocomplete) or add a Date & Time filter first to narrow the dataset.
Field Comparison
Compares one field’s value directly to another field’s value — useful when joining tables on multiple fields.
| Operator | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Is Less Than (Field) | First field value is less than the second. |
| Is Greater Than (Field) | First field value is greater than the second. |
| Equals (Field) | Both fields share the same value. |
| Not Equals (Field) | Fields have different values. |
String
| Operator | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Like | Field contains the given text. |
| Isn’t Like | Field does not contain the given text. |
| Begins With | Field starts with the given text. |
| Ends With | Field ends with the given text. |