Which documents a report shows: document types, filters, search and sorting

This page gives the exact rules that decide which documents a report lists on its Index tab and in which order: the report’s document types, its main filter, your personal filters, the search box, sorting, column order and paging. How to use them step by step is in Search and filter a report for yourself; the controls on the Settings tab are in The report Settings tab.

How the rules combine

A document of the report’s module is listed only when all of these are true:

Its type is one of the report’s document types.
It matches the report’s main filter.
It matches every one of your personal filters.
It matches your search text, if you have typed one.

The same four rules decide which documents your export contains and which documents the report’s charts count, so two users with different personal filters can see different numbers in the same report; see Report exports: what the Excel and PDF files contain and How report charts count and group documents.

Document types

The document types are set under “Select the types of documents to display in the report” in the report’s Main report filter. They apply to everyone who opens the report.

Type	Which documents of the report’s module it covers
New	Documents at their first step that are not published.
In progress	Documents that have moved past their first step and are not published.
Completed	Published documents.
Archived	See the rules below.

Archived switch	Result
Off	Archived documents are never listed, whatever their stage.
On, together with one or more of the other types	All archived documents are listed in addition to the documents of the chosen types, whatever stage the archived documents are at.
On, with no other type chosen	Only archived documents are listed.
No type chosen at all	The report lists no documents.

A new report starts with New, In progress and Completed switched on and Archived switched off.

Main filter and personal filters

Rule	Detail
Different fields	A document must match the filters on every field: the filter on one field and the filter on another must both match.
Several values on one field	A document matches when it has any one of the chosen values.
Main filter and personal filter	The report’s main filter applies to everyone; your personal filters narrow the result further for you only.
Same field in both	You cannot add a personal filter on a field the main filter covers. When you choose such a field under Filter, a dialog shows the message “A main filter has already been applied to this field, which prevents the addition of a personal filter. If you want to select different values for this field, you need to contact a superuser.”, then “Main filter” and the values the main filter uses, with an Ok button.
Main filter added later	If someone adds a main filter on a field where you already have a personal filter, your personal filter on that field is deleted the next time you open the report. When the field is a column in the report, a dialog titled Remove filter says “The following personal filters will be deleted:” and lists the fields; close it with Ok. When the field is not a column, the personal filter is deleted without a message.
Where personal filters are kept	Your personal filters are saved for you on the report, so they are the same on every computer and phone you use, until you remove them or a main filter later covers the field. Nobody else sees them.

You set a personal filter with the Filter button next to the search box: choose a field in the list, and the controls for that field appear under the top bar. The list offers:

the shared fields Id, Title, Created, Last updated, Responsible, Status and Revision number, the observation column when the module’s workflow allows saving as an observation, and Sent External when the module’s workflow has a step that can be sent outside ABMS;
every field of the module, also the fields that are not columns in the report, except text editor fields, heading bars, information texts, company fields, expandable boxes, checklists and comment fields.

The fields are listed in alphabetical order. Fields from an earlier version of the module are marked as deactivated.

Field	Filter control	A document matches when
Title, single-line text, multi-line text, e-mail address, upload field, the observation column	A text box, applied when you press Enter or leave the box. Also Field blank and Field not blank.	The value contains your text; upper and lower case are ignored. With Field blank, the field is empty; with Field not blank, it has a value.
Responsible	A list of users: everyone who has been responsible for a document in the module, and everyone with the Create right or higher on the module. Active users come first, then deactivated users marked “[Deactivated]”.	The document’s current step is owned by one of the chosen users.
Name of the person working on the step, person list	A list of users.	The field holds one of the chosen people.
Dropdown, option buttons, global field, Status	A list of values, with blank and not blank at the top. Applied as soon as you choose. For Status, the list has every status of the module, also the “- Waiting For Approval” variants.	The field has one of the chosen values.
Sent External	“Yes” or “No”; you choose one.	The document has, or has not, an active link for someone outside ABMS.
Tick boxes	A list of values, with blank and not blank at the top.	At least one of the chosen values is ticked.
Risk field	A coloured box for each value, NA, Blank and Not Blank. Click the boxes you want, then Apply.	The field has one of the chosen values.
Connected dropdown	The dropdown’s menu, Field blank and Field not blank, then Apply.	The field has one of the chosen values.
Date field, Created	From and To dates; either can be left empty. Applied when you choose a date.	The date is on or after From and on or before To. For Created, the date the document was first created is used.
Last updated	From and To dates.	The document was last changed within the period.
Whole number, decimal number, calculated field, Revision number	A minimum and a maximum value, digits only; leave one empty for no limit. Applied when you press Enter or leave the box.	The value is equal to or higher than the minimum and equal to or lower than the maximum.

Your active filters are listed under Applied Filters as the field name followed by the chosen values.

Remove	How
One filter	Click the cross after the filter under Applied Filters. It is removed at once, without a question. Emptying the filter’s value also removes it.
All filters, on a phone or tablet	The red Remove all filter button with a filter icon, shown when you have personal filters and the Create right on the module. It asks “Are you sure you want to delete all personal filters?”; confirm with Yes.
All filters, on a computer	There is no button for this on a computer screen; remove the filters one by one under Applied Filters.

The “Search documents…” box searches the documents that the document types and filters leave. Press Enter or click the magnifying glass to search, and the cross in the box to clear it.

Rule	Detail
Kind of match	A document matches when the text occurs anywhere in a searched value; upper and lower case are ignored.
What is searched	The Id, the Title, the first and last name of the Responsible user, and the stored values of the document’s fields, also fields that are not columns in the report, in both languages. Values from dropdowns, option buttons and tick boxes with translations are found by their name in English or Norwegian. Global field values are found by their name.
A date as search text	When the text can be read as a date with the day before the month, for example 16.06.2026 or 16/06/2026, or as 2026-06-16, documents created or last changed on that date are found as well.
How long it stays	The search text stays while you open documents from the report and come back. It is cleared when you go elsewhere in ABMS. It is not saved with your personal filters.

Sorting

Rule	Detail
Sort by a column	Click the column title or its arrow. The first click sorts ascending, the next click descending, the next ascending again.
Empty values	Rows with an empty value come last, in both directions.
Whole number, decimal number and calculated fields	Sorted by numeric value.
Other module fields	Sorted alphabetically by the stored value; upper and lower case are ignored.
Status	Sorted by the status name in your language.
Checklist columns	Sorted by the number of tasks, then by the number of ticked tasks.
No sort chosen	Rows are sorted by Last updated, newest first.
Where it is kept	Your sort is saved for you on the report and does not change the sort for others. If the column you sorted by is removed from the report, the report’s own sort is used.

Column order

Drag a column title to another place to change the column order; the tooltip says “Drag’n’drop”. The order is saved for you only, together with your sort, and is also the column order of your Excel and PDF exports. Other users keep the order chosen in the report’s Field Settings.

Paging

Item	Detail
Rows per page	Buttons 10, 20 and 50 under the table, on a computer screen. A report starts at 10 rows per page unless it has been set to another of these numbers.
Count	“Showing 1 to 10 of 57” tells which rows you see and how many documents the report lists with your filters and search.
Page links	Previous, the page numbers and Next.
How long it stays	The page and the number of rows per page are kept for the report while your browser tab stays open.

Next step

Search and filter a report for yourself