Most lists are by default sorted by the name of the item. This can be changed by clicking on the column header of another column. If you click on the same column twice the sort order is reversed. A downwards or upwards pointing arrow is displayed next to the column header in the column that is currently used for sorting. Column headers that are black cannot be used for sorting.

It is possible to use more than one column for sorting. Press and hold one of the CTRL, ALT or SHIFT keys while clicking on another column header. The original sorting is kept and the new column is used for sub-sorting the list. The procedure can be repeated with more columns if you need to sort on three or more columns. To revert to sort by only one column again click a column header without holding down any key.

If the list contains many items you may need to use a filter to be able to find the item you are looking for. The input boxes on the line below the column headers are used for filtering. Most columns are filtered using a free-text input box, but some columns that can only take a few distinct values use a selection list or radio buttons instead. The selection list and radio buttons are very simple to use. Just select the alternative that you want to filter on. The list will be automatically updated when the selection has been made.

The free-text filter is a bit more complex. By default, an exact match is required, use % as a wildcard character that matches any character. For example, the filter

only matches the same exact string, but the filter

matches

If you want to filter on several values at the same time, separate the values in the filter input box with the “|” character. For example, a filter text like

matches both “Experiment A” and values that begin with “C”.

You can also use operators to find items which has a value that is greater than, less than or not equal to a specific value. This is mostly useful on numeric or date columns but also works on text columns. The operator must be entered first in the free-text box, for example

to find items which has a value less than or equal to 10. Here is a list of the supported operators:

Units

Some (numeric) columns have values with units. There are, for example, the Original quantity and Remaining quantity columns for biomaterials, which have values in micrograms (µg), and annotations which may have any unit.

When filtering on a column that has a unit, numeric values without units are interpreted as the default unit for that column. But it is also possible to add a unit to the filter value. The examples below are filtering on the original quantity column of a biomaterial:

>=0.5mg

matches biomaterials with an original quantity >=500µg.

=100|200|300µg

matches biomaterials with exactly 100, 200 or 300 micrograms.

It is also possible to mix units in a single filter:

=100|200|300µg|0.5|1mg

which matches 100, 200, 300, 500 and 1000 micrograms.

	Be aware of rounding errors
	All filter values with a unit that is different from the default unit are converted to the default unit before being applied. Since numeric conversions are never exact down to the last decimal, this may result in problems to filter with an exact match. The last example above could, for example, be converted to: 100, 200, 300, 500.000001 and 999.99999998.

	Hard-to-type characters
	Some units contains hard-to-type characters. For example, the greek letter µ in µg, and m² and m³ for areas and volumes. In all those cases it is also possible to use ug, m2 and m3, respectively.

	Units are case-sensitive
	All units are case sensitive. The main reason for this is that it must be possible to tell the difference between milli (m) and mega (M) prefixes, for example, mJ and MJ.

Most lists show only a small subset of the columns it is capable of showing. Use the Columns… button to open a dialog that allows you to select which columns to show and the order in which they are shown.

Figure 6.5. Configuring which columns to show

Use the Save button to apply your changes or the Cancel button to close the pop-up without saving.

The view / presets dropdown has three main functions:

Figure 6.6. The view / presets dropdown

Save a preset

If you select the Save as… option from the view / presets dropdown the Save preset as dialog is opened.

Figure 6.7. Save preset as

For item

The type of item the preset is saved for.

Name

The name of the preset. The name must be unique.

Overwrite existing

If a preset with the same name already exists, it is overwritten if this checkbox is checked.

Public

This options is only available for users which has the SHARE_TO_EVERYONE permission. If checked the preset is visible to all users.

Use the Ok button to save the preset or the Cancel button to close the pop-up without saving.

Manage presets

If you select the Manage… option from the view / presets dropdown the Manage presets dialog is opened.

Figure 6.8. Manage presets

From this dialog you can delete or load presets.

To delete presets, first mark the checkbox in front of each preset you want to delete. Then, click on the Delete… button. You will get a warning about that the action cannot be undone. Unlike other items, the presets are not moved to the trashcan. Click on Ok to delete the preset.

	Edit a preset
	It is not possible to edit a preset directly. To change an existing preset you must: Load the preset. Use the interface to change column settings, filter, sort order, etc. Save the preset with the same name.

Use the Close button to close the pop-up.