Filter creation and management

To name and save a filter, you must be the sheet Editor or higher.

You must be the sheet Owner or Admin to share a filter.

Filters act as a personalized lens, allowing you to cut through the noise and surface only the rows that matter to your current task.

For example, you can create a filter to see all tasks due on a specific date, everything currently assigned to you, or all items in a particular stage in a workflow. You can apply a filter to a sheet via the Filter menu.

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Filter sharing is available with Business plans and higher. For more information about plans and pricing, see the Pricing page.

Unnamed vs. named filters

There are two types of filters: unnamed filters and named filters. The filter you work with depends on your sharing permission in the sheet and your goals for filtering:

• Unnamed filter: Anyone with access to a sheet can create one unnamed filter (a filter with no name) in that sheet. Your unnamed filter is unique to you, and you can configure it however you like.
  
  You can reuse and update an unnamed filter, but you can have only one unnamed filter at a time.  
• Named filter: Anyone with Editor or higher permissions to a sheet can create and name filters in that sheet. If you're the sheet Owner or have Admin permissions on the sheet, you can share named filters with all other users who have access to the sheet.  

Additional filters

In table, board, and timeline views, you can further filter your data by adding additional, temporary filters. You can use these ad-hoc filters on their own, or you can use them with your saved filters.

1. Select Add a filter.
2. From the column drop-down list, select the column and the criteria.

You can create and share these filters as you like.

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Filters applied to your sheet

Filters impact all views in the sheet. Rows you hide with a filter in grid view are also hidden in card view, calendar view, and Gantt View.

• To verify if a filter is applied to your sheet, check the label on the Filter menu. The image below shows a sheet with an active filter named "Content edit and update". 

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• If one or more child rows of a collapsed parent row meet the current filter's criteria, Smartsheet shows those child rows.

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• If you hover over the filter name, the number of matching rows and total rows appear.

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Now you have a basic understanding of sheet filters.

Filters show or hide rows based on conditions you define against column data. You can filter on a single condition or combine multiple conditions.

Conditions you can apply to a column:

• Matches a specific value or a value in a list
• Matches none of the values in a list
• Greater than, less than, or equal to a value
• Blank or empty
• Not a number
• Not a date

When you set multiple conditions, choose whether to show rows matching all conditions or at least one condition.

With the right permissions, you can create filters for yourself or share them with other collaborators. Sharing filters requires a Business or Enterprise plan. For plan details, see Pricing.

Required permissions

Your sharing permissions on a sheet determine what you can do with filters.

An unnamed filter is personal to you. Other collaborators can't see or use it.

Create a filter in Grid view

To create a filter in a table, board, or timeline view, see Filter your data in table, board, and timeline view. 

1. On the toolbar, select Filter > New Filter. The filter editor appears. 

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2. Name your filter or leave it unnamed:

   • Named filter: Type a name in the Name field. Requires Editor permissions or higher.
   • Unnamed filter: Leave the Name field blank.

3. Under Show rows that match, set one or more conditions for filtering the data you want.

   The column's data type determines which operators are available. For example, contains works only with text strings and contacts; is between works only with dates and numbers.

4. Select the toggle next to Show rows that match to switch between all conditions and at least one condition.
5. To share the filter with collaborators, select the Share filter checkbox. Requires Admin permissions or higher on the sheet.
6. If your sheet uses hierarchy, select Include parent rows to keep parent rows visible in the filtered results.
7. Select Apply.

Rows matching your filter appear; all other rows hide.

In the Filter menu, your filter appears by name, or as Unnamed Filter if you left the name blank. Shared filters show a share   icon next to the filter name.

Modify a filter

You can always go back and change the conditions of an existing filter:

1. In the Filter menu, hover over the filter name and select the Edit    icon. The form title shows the filter's name. Confirm it's the right filter before making changes.
2. In the Edit Filter form, update the conditions as desired.
3. Select Apply.

The updated conditions apply to the sheet.

If you don't have Editor permissions or higher, you can only modify unnamed filters.

Turn off a filter

Select the filter name in the top bar. The label changes to Filter Off.

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Delete a filter

Here is how to remove a filter from the sheet:

1. In the Filter menu, hover over the filter name and select the Delete   icon.
2. Select Delete.

Tips for working with conditions

As you specify conditions for your filters, you might get a sense of how to set up the criteria you find most useful. Here are a few ideas to get you started

Find missing data

Use the is blank condition to surface rows where data hasn't been filled in.

Switch between AND and OR logic

Select the toggle next to Show rows that match to switch between all conditions (AND) and at least one condition (OR).

Keep parent rows visible

If your sheet uses hierarchy, select Include parent rows to keep parent rows visible even when they don't match the filter conditions.

Focus collaborators on their tasks

Create a Current User filter to show each collaborator only the rows assigned to them. For details, see View your assigned tasks.

Filter on row-level properties

Use the Row filter criteria to narrow results by critical path status, attachments, comments, and locked status. See Filter on critical path, attachments, comments, and locked rows below.

Filter on pure numeric values

Filters don't match pure numeric values directly. To work around this, create a new column and enter this formula:

=[NumberColumn]1 + ""

Replace [NumberColumn] with your column name. The 1 is the row number. Copy the formula down the column, then filter on the new text column instead.

Filter on critical path data, attachments, comments, and locked rows

Select Row in the first dropdown to access these filter options.

Isolate critical path data

If your sheet highlights critical path rows, use is on critical path or is not on critical path to show or hide those rows. To set up critical path tracking, see Tracking a project's critical path.

Find rows with attachments or comments

Use has attachments or has comments to isolate rows that need action, such as files to download or comment threads to reply to. Use does not have attachments or does not have comments to hide those rows.

Find locked and unlocked rows

Use Row is locked or Row is not locked to show or hide rows that only Admins can edit. This helps users with Editor permissions identify which rows they're allowed to change.

An efficient way for users to view information tailored to them is to create a report that uses the Current User filter, such as a Task List report.

Smartsheet identifies the logged-in user and cross-references their details with the data in the Contact List columns. This allows you to generate a single report that dynamically applies to all users who are shared on the report and its associated sheets.

Create a current user report 

To create a current user report:

1. Open Smartsheet and create your report:
   • Navigate to Home or the desired workspace.
   • Select Create > Report.
2. Choose your report type:
   • Select Row Report to create a report that displays rows from one or more sheets.
3. Select source sheets:
   • Choose the sheets from which you want to pull data. You can select multiple sheets if needed.
4. Add a filter:
   • In the report builder, go to the Filter tab.
   • Select Add Filter and choose the column that contains user contact details (for example, Assigned To or Contact List).
5. Apply a current user filter:
   • Set the filter condition to is equal to or has any of, and select Current User from the dropdown menu. This ensures the report dynamically displays information for the logged-in user.
6. Customize your columns and layout:
   • Adjust the columns to display the relevant information you need in the report.
   • You can also reorder columns, apply sorting, and adjust the layout to suit your preferences.
7. Save and share your report:
   • Select Save and give your report a name.
   • Share the report with users or groups as needed. The current user filter automatically tailors the report to each user based on their login details.

Check that your filter is working by logging in as different users, or have your team members check the report to ensure it displays the correct information based on the Current User filter.