Quick Filters - Examples

The Quick Filters control bar allows you to specify one or more attribute by which you can filter data that is currently loaded.

In the same way that Filter Expressions allow you to construct different levels of complexity, the Quick Filters bar permits the same flexibility, but does so interactively.

Example 1: Filtering a Single Overlay by Data Column Values

In this example, you're going to load the tried-and-trusted "Mintr" wireframe volume. A star of the Datamine tutorials data set (located in the Database | DmTutorials | Data | VBOP | Datamine folder), this simple wireframe comprises 2 distinct zones, 1 surface and 10 sections (as represented by unique values in the ZONE, SURFACE and SECTION data columns respectively).

This example will load the file "_vb_mintr.dm" into the 3D window (all of it). The Quick Filters control bar will then be used to do the following:

Filter the volume to show ZONE = 1 and ZONE = 2 respectively
Filter the volume to show the different SECTION 'bins', filtering out several of these strips to produce a zebra-like effect
Combine the above to show the volume filtered by both SECTION and ZONE concurrently

This should give you some idea of what you can achieve just by selecting or deselecting the unique values found in each of the select data columns.

In another worked example, you will be able to see how you can create a filter legend automatically, and filter data on-the-fly.

If you have any data in memory, save your project and data, then unload it all. Alternatively, create a new project.
Load the file _vb_mintr.dm into the 3D window.
Select the View ribbon, then Zoom Fit | Zoom East
You should see a view similar to the following:
Select the Format ribbon and make sure the Quick Filters toggle is switched on. This makes sure that the Quick Filter Control Bar is displayed on screen (by default, on the right side of your application).
Select the Column radio button and expand the associated drop-down list to select [ZONE].
In the list below, 2 options have appeared:
This represents the unique values found in the ZONE field for the loaded wireframe (you'll find out what happens when more than one object is loaded shortly)
Select the 1 Check box - the screen updates automatically to show the green ZONE (ZONE = 1). Select the 2 check box and you're back to where you started.

...then...
Locate and select the Unique check box and perform step (8) again - note how this time, you can only select one filter 'bin' at a time, and the screen updates automatically:

...then...

The Unique check box is really useful where you want to visualize isolated bins of data, one at a time. It's very handy when you create, say, a filter legend for metallic grade (cut-off intervals) and want to see how these values are represented within the overall deposit.
We're finished with the ZONE field for the time being.

Select [SECTION] from the Column drop-down list - this time 10 items appear in the list, numbered 1-10 (although they could be any numeric or text description).
Change the view - select Zoom Fit | Zoom Plan.
Disable the Unique check box.
Enable sections 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 only - you should see a striped wireframe like so:
Next, you're going to create a filter combining both ZONE and SECTION fields.

Change the view - select Zoom Fit | Zoom North.
In the Quick Filter Control Bar, at the top right corner, select the "+" button:

This means you wish to add another element to your filter expression, either another data column or legend-based expression.
The panel splits cleanly down the middle - stretch it out a bit so you can clearly see both sides (only the top half is shown in the image below).:
In the right-hand panel, select [ZONE] - see how the two values from before reappear?
Select [1] - you are now filtering your wireframe to show sections 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 - but only if they fall within ZONE [1]:

...and that's how you build up a filter expression. You can use a combination of data column and legend selections (e.g. you want to show model grades from 0.08 to 1.12 ppm, but only if they fall within a specific pushback or bench)
For those who like to know what's going on 'under the hood', the Quick Filters Control Bar is a very rapid and visual way to construct filter expressions of the type normally entered manually into, say, a filter-on-load dialog, or the Data Object Manager. If you want to see what expression has been created (maybe you want to add it to a script), you can see it in the Data Object Manager's Filter field (Data | Manage Objects) for as long as the Quick Filter settings remain in force.

The Filter Expression for the above exercise is:

( (SECTION = 1) OR (SECTION = 3) OR (SECTION = 5) OR (SECTION = 7) OR (SECTION = 9) ) AND ( (ZONE = 1) )

Multiple Overlays

The above example revolves around a single wireframe object (_vb_mintr and it's corresponding points file), with a single 3D overlay.

You may have noticed the lower section of the Quick Filter Control Bar, which is used to control the scope of filtering where more than one overlay exists.

In this example, you will load another file, a strings object and filter both using the Quick Filter Control Bar.

This example assumes you have just completed the one above.

Locate and load the DmTutorials file _vb_minst.dm into the 3D window. You will see that it is added to the view, and the Quick Filter's Overlays panel updates to show multiple overlays which we can play with:
To make the changes easier to see, change the String Properties (Lines) so that they have a Scale of 5, using the String Properties dialog - also give them a FixedColor of yellow.
Firstly, ensure all check boxes are enabled in this area (the default) and expand the Column drop-down list in either left or right panels - note how they now include all data columns from both wireframe and strings objects.
To reinforce the point, disable the Strings check box and try again - this time only wireframe data columns are shown.

Re-enable the Strings check box for the next step.
You should be looking at something like this:
...and in the Quick Filter panel, this:
Click the "+" button again to add another panel split. In the 3rd column (the new one).
Select the COLOUR data column in the 3rd (new) panel, then Click the Filter Legend button:
In the Quick Filter Legend dialog, enter the Number of Bins as "5" then click OK. A new legend is created, with two equally-sized (linearly-distributed) bins, plus one default bin for absent data:

This method of filtering is useful where the data column initially selected would not be sensibly represented by bins representing a single, unique value (grades, coordinates, blastability index and so forth).
Select the [4.4, 5.2] bin - the green wireframe zone AND string data has disappeared. Why? because both objects contain a COLOUR field (in fact, the strings were originally used to create the wireframe, copying the COLOUR attributes as the linking operation completed) - the selected bin is saying "only show data where the COLOUR value is greater than 4.4 and less than or equal to 5.2"....therefore all overlays that support a COLOUR field will be update to only show data where COLOUR = 5.
Select the [5.2, 6.1] bin - you're back to where you started:

But surely, the strings are all the same colour (you set them to yellow) so this filtering is nonsense, right? Not as such. The visual representation is yellow, but the underlying data column for the strings (called COLOUR) is what is being used to filter. The "fixed color" setting you applied above (in the String Properties dialog) is just a manual override of this, and is used instead of a legend.

...and what's the Filter Expression for the example above:

( (SECTION = 1) OR (SECTION = 3) OR (SECTION = 5) OR (SECTION = 7) OR (SECTION = 9) ) AND ( (ZONE = 1) OR (ZONE = 2) ) AND ( ((COLOUR >= 4.4) AND (COLOUR < 5.2)) OR ((COLOUR >= 5.2) AND (COLOUR < 6.1)) )

Quick Filters is a much quicker option than typing all that out!