Create ShowQL filters to find assets in the Files library

Note: This article is about the new beta Admin App, which is still in development. Changes may occur. Please provide feedback directly in the beta app.

All files uploaded to Showpad are stored in your Files library. As your library grows, you may need to use filters to find specific files.
To help you find exactly what you’re looking for, you can create advanced filters using the Showpad Query Language (ShowQL). ShowQL is a powerful and user-friendly query language that lets you define sophisticated criteria to precisely target files. Your filter is automatically applied as you build it.

See how it looks

Key features

• Use filters based on one or more criteria to find relevant files
• Use these filters to export a specific list of files

You need this to succeed

• The beta Admin App enabled
• Showpad Enterprise package
• Showpad Administrator or Promoted Member account with Content Management permissions

The quick way

1. Open the Libraries tab and select All files from the left menu.
2. Click Advanced near the top right of the library.
3. Click in the search bar and select one of the available attributes.
4. Choose a comparison operator.
5. Enter or select the value you want to find and press Enter.
6. You can add another criterion to your search by clicking + add.
7. The list of files is updated as soon as you add new criteria.

Do this step by step

• Understand advanced filtering logic
• Create an advanced filter
• List of available identifiers and operators

Understand advanced filtering logic

The Showpad Query Language (ShowQL) is a powerful and user-friendly query language that lets you define sophisticated criteria to precisely target content within your Files library.

To create advanced filters using ShowQL, it's important to understand their construction and logic. There are two types of filters you can build:

• Simple query: This is a filter that uses a single statement. You need to select an identifier, an operator, and a value. The identifier tells Showpad where to look, and the value defines what you seek. The operator determines how to compare the identifier and the value.
• Combined queries: This is a more complex filter in which you can combine multiple statements by using one of the following logical operators: 
  • and: This operator returns content that matches both statements.
  • or: This operator returns content that matches either statement.

Note: Manually entered text values are case-sensitive. This means that your results could be affected because "a" and "A" are treated as two distinct letters. However, this is not the case when using the contains (~) or does not contain (!~) operators. When using either of these operators, manually entered text values must be lowercase.

Create an advanced filter

1. Navigate to the Libraries tab. 
2. If your organization uses multiple Divisions, select the desired Divison from the top-left dropdown menu.
3. Select All Files from the left menu.
4. In the Files library, Click Advanced near the top right of the library.
5. Click in the search bar and select one of the available attributes.
6. Select a comparison operator by clicking on the option presented in the search bar. This defines how the selected attribute is compared to the value. The available operators depend on the type of attribute selected.
7. Select or enter the value you want to include. Only values that correspond to the selected attribute are displayed.
8. Press Enter on your keyboard.
9. You can add another criterion to your search by clicking + add. This will add a logical operator between your search criteria. Click on the displayed operator to change it.
   • and: This operator is selected by default. Using it requires that any results returned must match both of your search criteria.
   • or: This operator will return results that match either of the criteria.
10. The list of displayed files is updated as soon as you add new criteria.
11. You can clear the search bar at any time by clicking Reset in the search bar.

List of available identifiers and operators

Showpad identifiers are grouped into five themes. The following table details the available identifiers and the operators that can be used with them.

Learn how this feature works in the current Online Platform.