Using filters to search by language (how many filters can I have?)

Kelly Winter

I'm creating a sheet where people can search languages using the filter.

Example. The rows are set with all the languages/dialects (~300) and the column types are set to checkbox and list out the 6 vendors we contract with check boxing the languages they offer interpretation for.

Q1: Is there a finite number of filters I can create?

I want to embed this smartsheet into our internal webpages for our employees to search for languages offered by our vendors using the filter.

Q2: Is there a better way to allow people using the embedded sheet to search for vendors by language.

Thanks in advance for any assistance with this.

James Keuning

When I encountered this problem and did not want to create 300 filters, I created a dropdown field in the Sheet Summary, and I put my filter choices there. Then I created a checkbox field that tested the row against the Sheet Summary. Then I just had one filter, and that filter tested to see that the checkbox is checked. Now, the downside is that the filter does not refresh when the Sheet Summary is changed. The filter needs to be turned off and back on. But if you can work around that, or train your users to click the filter on an off, it's a pretty fast way to get this done. I also trigger conditional formatting in a similar fashion, in which case the relevant cells get highlighted, no filter.

Kelly Winter

This is an interesting solution. I'll think I'll run a proof of concept on it to see how it goes and if I think it might work. Thank you for responding.

Andrée Starå

Hi @Kelly Winter

I hope you're well and safe!

To add to James's excellent advice/answer.

Other options.

• Form a dashboard that shows a report that would refresh with the selected criteria after submission.
• Selection/Filter area somewhere in the sheet

Would any of those options work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe, and have a fantastic weekend!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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