Event Filter+

Overview

When to use it

Use Event Filter+ when you need to:

• Let operators narrow the event symbols of a display without editing their searches.
• Filter several event symbols at once with one list.
• Filter by the combination of two attributes, or by a period such as a month.
• Open a display with a value already selected, for example from a link in an email.

Choose Events Table+ when readers should pick individual events from a list. Choose Asset Filter+ when the filter should select assets.

Before you begin

• Place the event symbols you want to filter on the same display. They narrow their events by the filter when they listen to Master filters, which is on by default. See Filtering dashboards.
• The symbols must load events that carry the attribute you filter by. A value that no loaded event has does not appear in the list.
• The filter list is built from the events that Event Filter+ loads with its own search criteria. Use the same event frame template as the symbols you filter.

Add and set up the symbol

1. Select Event Filter+ in the PI Vision symbol gallery.
2. Drag an event frame attribute from the Event Frame Search results onto the display.
3. Right-click the symbol, select Search Criteria..., choose the database and the event frame template, and select Apply. A new symbol keeps its own search.
4. Right-click the symbol and select Configure Event Filter.... Under Arguments, set Value to the attribute that defines the list, here |Root Cause.
5. Under General, open Selection and set Mode to Multiple.
6. Under Header, enter a Header Text such as Select Root Cause.

The symbol lists every root cause found in the loaded events. Each entry has a check box and All selects every entry.

Note: Attribute names show a leading |. |Root Cause gives the full path, for example Equipment breakdown|Electrical|Fuse. |Root Cause|Level1 gives only the first level, Equipment breakdown.

Common tasks

Filter the event symbols by a value

Use this when operators should choose the events they look at, for example one root cause at a time.

1. Right-click the symbol and select Configure Event Filter....
2. Under General, open Selection and set Mode (1) to Single to allow one entry, or Multiple to allow several.
3. In Single mode, set Allow Empty (2) to ON so readers can clear the selection by clicking the entry again.
4. Set Icon (3) to ON to show a radio button or check box in front of each entry.

Click an entry (1). The other symbols recalculate for the events with that value: the KPI card (2) and the table (3) now cover two events. The filter matches the exact value, so Equipment breakdown|Mechanical does not include Equipment breakdown events.

Filter by two attributes together

Use this when the list should combine two attributes, such as the cause and who reported it, or when a parent entry should include its sub-causes.

1. In the configuration pane, under Arguments, set Value (3) of the first argument to |Root Cause|Level1 (1).
2. Select Add Argument and set Value of the new argument to |Reported By (2).

1. Under General, open Layout and set View to Tree. The Tree view needs at least two arguments.

The list shows one node per root cause. Expand a node to see the second argument. Select a child (1) to filter by both values: here the events that equipment breakdown caused and an operator reported. Select the parent node to filter by the first value alone, which includes every event of that level. The table shows the matching events (2) and the KPI cards (3) cover them.

In the List view, the same two arguments give one entry for each combination, such as Maintenance and Automatic.

Filter by a period

Use this when readers should pick a month, a week, or a shift period instead of a text value.

1. In the configuration pane, under Arguments, set Value (1) to a date attribute, here StartTime.
2. Set Group Interval (2) to the period, here Month-Year. Group Interval appears for date attributes only.

The list now has one entry for each month that has events. Select an entry (1): the table shows only events that started in that month (2), here November 2025.

The entries are sorted alphabetically, not by date. Use the search field to find a month quickly.

Show which filter is active

Use this when readers must see that a symbol is narrowed and by how much. Every receiving symbol has its own Filter Indicator setting.

1. Right-click the receiving symbol, for example an Event Analytics KPI+, and open its configuration pane.
2. Open Filtering.
3. Set Filter Indicator (1) to Full (2). Compact shows only the filter icon and Hidden shows nothing.

With Full, the symbol always shows the count of events it uses, such as 10 of 46 events. With Compact, the chip appears while you hover over the symbol or tap the icon. Waiting for filter shows in every mode.

Open a display with a value selected

Use this when one display opens from many links, for example from notification emails, and each link should start with its filter set.

1. Right-click the symbol and select Configure Event Filter....
2. Under General, open Selection and enter a Link parameter name (1). Use letters, digits, -, and _. The name is not case-sensitive.
3. Read the hint below the field (2). It shows the text to add to the link, here vlp.cause=.
4. Save the display.

Add vlp.<name>=<value> to the display link, after the display name and ?, and separate parameters with &. This link selects two entries in the filter named cause:

https://<server>/PIVision/#/Displays/123/Events?vlp.cause=Maintenance,Operator%20error

The display opens with both entries selected (1) and the other symbols filtered (2), as if a reader had clicked them.

• Several values: separate them with commas. In Single mode the first value that matches an entry is selected.
• Commas and spaces: write a space as %20. Wrap a value that contains a comma in double quotes.
• Several levels: for an entry built from two arguments, separate the parts with a backslash, such as vlp.site=North\Station%204. In the Tree view, a link can name a node at any level.
• Time range: combine the link with PI Vision's own time parameters, such as StartTime and EndTime.

A link selection acts like a click and is never saved with the display. Readers can change it afterward. If the link changes while the display is open, the filter follows the new value. A value that is not in the list is ignored. If none of the values is in the list yet, the symbol tries again when new events load.

Start with the same entries without a link

Use a default selection when every reader should start with the same entries, for example the latest batch.

1. Under General, open Selection and set Default selection (1) to Specific values. To start with the last entry of the list instead, select Last item and go to step 4.
2. Type the entries in Values (2), separated by commas as in a link, or click them on the display. In Ranges mode, check the ranges in the Ranges list instead.
3. If you clicked the entries on the display, click Use current selection (3). It copies them into Values.
4. Save the display.

The display opens with the default entries selected. Readers can change the selection, and a later refresh does not reset it. A link with a value for this filter replaces the default. A default value that is not in the list is skipped and recorded as a warning in the PI Vision log.

Let a symbol ignore the filter

Use this when one symbol must always show all events, for example a total beside the filtered symbols.

1. Right-click the symbol that should stay unfiltered and open its configuration pane.
2. Open Filtering.
3. Set Ignore Master (1) to ON.

With two entries selected (1), the KPI cards (2) show only those causes, and the table (3) keeps all its events and shows no filter icon. Ignore Master ignores Master filters only. Linked inputs still apply.

Use the symbol

• Click an entry to select it. In Multiple mode, click it again to clear it. In Single mode, click it again to clear it when Allow Empty is ON. Without Allow Empty, one entry always stays selected.
• Filter: a click changes what the other symbols on the display show, and never writes to the PI System. The selection is not saved with the display.
• Clear: deselect the entries, or hover over the filter icon of Event Filter+ and use the clear action.
• Collapsible layout: the list opens from its header, and closes after a selection when Collapse on Select is ON.
• Time range: the entries come from the events in the symbol's search and time range. A new time range can add or remove entries.
• No entries: the search finds no events. Open Search Criteria... or change the display time range.
• Selected entry disappears: when a selection no longer matches any event, for example after another filter narrowed the events, Event Filter+ clears it.

Configure the symbol

Right-click the symbol and select Configure Event Filter.... The right-click menu also offers Search Criteria.... The sections appear in this order.

Dimension > Arguments

General > Layout

General > Selection

General > Style, Header, Search

Interactivity > Filtering

Attributes

Lists the event frame attributes that Value can use. Drag more attributes onto the symbol to add them. The Numbers section sets the number format.

Troubleshooting and limitations

Limitation: Event Filter+ filters the symbols of the current display only, and only symbols that listen to Master or Linked filters.

Limitation: The entries come from the events the symbol loads. A search that returns a limited number of events limits the entries.

Limitation: Entries of a date attribute are sorted alphabetically, not by date.