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Filters - create and use

Here's how to create, save, and combine filters in specter

Written by Niklas Beese

In this article we will show you

  • How to create and save filters

  • Which rules you can set for filters

  • How to combine saved filters

Explanatory video

Video (translated with AI)

Timestamps

0:12 – Opening the filter menu in the Viewer
​0:38 – Creating a new filter (filter type and filter values)
​1:20 – Reading the legend, naming and saving the filter
​1:44 – Filter options: exclusion filter, custom formula, multiple criteria
​2:39 – Hiding or selecting objects
​3:01 – Saving a filter as a new filter (duplicating)
​3:25 – Showing related objects
​4:49 – Filter chips in the Viewer and combining filters
​5:56 – Combining, editing, deleting and duplicating filters in the filter menu
​6:36 – Filters in the Planner and the Weekly table
​

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Open the filter menu

Filters work the same way in every part of specter. The Viewer has a few extra options, so we’ll start there.

Here’s how:

  1. Open the Viewer.

  2. In the Function bar at the bottom, click the up arrow next to the filter.

  3. The filter menu opens and lists all existing filters.

2. Create a new filter

You can use an existing filter or create your own. A legend at the top of the filter menu shows the active settings and how many objects match.

Here’s how:

  1. Click the green +.

  2. Under Filter type, choose what you want to filter by, e.g. Floor.

  3. Under Filter values, choose a value, e.g. the 2nd floor.

  4. The model now shows only the matching objects. The legend tells you how many components that is.

3. Name and save the filter

Until you give it a name, a filter is named after its filter type (e.g. “Floor”). A name of your own makes it easier to find later.

  1. Enter a name for the filter, e.g. OG2.

  2. Click Save.

  3. The new name now appears in the legend and in the filter list.

4. Set filter options

Every new filter starts as an IS filter, which shows all objects that match the filter value. You can also use the standard filter parameters or build your own formula.

  • Exclusion filter: Shows everything except the chosen value, e.g. every floor except the 2nd floor.

  • Multiple criteria: If you add more than one filter type, you get only the objects that match all of them. For example: 2nd floor and building Haus 1a. Give the filter a fitting name.

  • Visibility or selection: By default, the filter shows or hides the matching objects. If you switch it to Selection, the filtered objects are selected directly in the model.

5. Duplicate a filter

If you need the same filter for another floor, you don’t have to build it again:

  1. Open the saved filter.

  2. Change the filter value, e.g. to the 3rd floor.

  3. Rename the filter and save it as a new filter.

  4. Both filters now appear in the list.

6. Show related objects

Show related objects adds more objects to your filtered objects as context.

For example, you filter for all objects planned for today. You can then also show every object on the same floor. This is most useful together with the coloring options, which work the same way. You might see today’s work colored by trade, with the rest of the floor shown as context.

Here’s how:

  1. Create a filter, e.g. for the objects planned for today.

  2. Turn on Show related objects.

  3. Choose which objects to add, e.g. those on the same floor.

7. Use and combine filter chips in the Viewer

You can show your saved filters as a list in the Viewer. These filter chips let you switch between filters quickly and combine them.

Here’s how:

  1. Show the filters as a list in the Viewer.

  2. Turn on one or more filter chips, e.g. 5th floor and 2nd floor.

  3. Add another filter as an intersection, e.g. Walls. Now you see only the walls on the 2nd and 5th floors.

  4. The legend lists the filters in the order you turned them on. You can also remove individual filters there.

8. Combine and manage filters in the filter menu

You can also combine filters right in the filter menu, using one of three options: Add, Intersection and Subtract.

Here’s how:

  1. In the filter menu, turn on a filter, e.g. 4th floor.

  2. Choose another filter, e.g. Windows.

  3. Choose how the filters should be combined, e.g. Intersection. Now you see only the windows on the 4th floor.

Use the three dots next to a filter to edit, duplicate or delete it.

9. Filters in the Planner and Weekly table

Turning filters on and combining them works the same way everywhere, including in task components such as the Planner and the Weekly table. There, too, you can turn filters on and off, add them and subtract them.

Important: All task components share the same filters. The Viewer has its own filter list.

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