Filter DataTable

Filter DataTable

Type: filter-datatable  ·  Package: DataTable Activities v1.0.5  ·  Output: DataTable

Filters a DataTable and returns a new table with only the rows that meet the conditions. It is the most common operation when processing data: keep the pending items, the ones above an amount, the ones for a customer. It supports several conditions combined with AND (all) or OR (any) logic.

How it works

Evaluates each row against the conditions. In the Designer, conditions are built with a visual editor: for each one you choose a column, an operator and a value, and you decide whether they are combined with AND (and) or OR (or). It returns a new table, with the same columns, containing only the rows that pass the filter; the original table does not change.

• Column: by name (case-insensitive) or by position counting from 0 (0, 1…).
• Value: compared exactly as you type it in the editor; it is not evaluated as an expression. Surrounding quotes are removed ("Pending" and Pending are the same).
• Logic: or requires any condition to match; any other value (default and) requires all of them. Conditions are evaluated in order and evaluation stops as soon as the result is decided.
• The structure the editor saves is { logic, items: [ { column, operator, value } ] }; a flat list of conditions is also accepted. Older playbooks that expressed a single condition with the separate column / operator / value / logic fields keep working.

Required parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
table	DataTable	—	The DataTable to filter.

Optional parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
conditions	object	—	Filter conditions (column · operator · value) with AND/OR logic, as { logic, items }. Although the schema marks it optional, the activity needs at least one condition to run.

Available operators

Operator	Meaning
equals / not-equals	Equal / not equal. If both the cell and the value are numbers, compares them as numbers (5 = 5.0); otherwise as case-insensitive text.
contains	Contains the text (case-insensitive).
starts-with / ends-with	Starts / ends with (case-insensitive).
greater-than / less-than	Greater / less than. Numeric only: both the cell and the value must be numbers.
greater-or-equal / less-or-equal	Greater-or-equal / less-or-equal. Numeric only.
is-empty / is-not-empty	Empty cell (or only spaces) / not empty. They ignore the value.

Numbers are read with a dot as the decimal separator (1500.50); a comma is taken as a thousands separator.

Output

Returns a DataTable with the same columns as the original and only the matching rows, in their original order. If no row matches, it returns an empty table (0 rows, same columns), not null.

Common errors

Message	Cause and fix
'table' must be a DataTable.	table does not evaluate to a DataTable (empty variable or another type). Check the activity that produces it.
At least one condition is required ('column'+'value' or 'conditions').	There are no conditions. Add at least one in the editor.
Column '…' not found. Available columns: ….	A condition’s column does not exist in the table. The message lists the real columns; fix the name.
Column index … out of range (table has … column(s)).	You used a column position larger than the available ones.
Value '…' is not numeric. / Comparison value '…' is not numeric.	A numeric operator (greater-than, less-than…) found a cell or a value that is not a number; this also happens with empty cells. Put an is-not-empty condition on the same column first with AND logic: since evaluation stops at the first false condition, empty rows never reach the comparison.
Unrecognized operator: '…'	The operator is not one of the table above (happens when editing the playbook by hand).

Example

Keep the pending invoices above 1,000,000:

Filter DataTable
  table = invoices
  conditions:
     Status equals "Pending"   AND
     Total  greater-than 1000000
  → output: important

Log   message = "Matching rows: " + rowCount(important) + " of " + rowCount(invoices)

Complex filter or variables → LINQ

The conditions editor covers most cases with fixed values. To compare against the content of a variable, or for more elaborate logic (nested AND/OR, calculations), filter with LINQ in an expression: asRows(invoices).Where(r => str(r["Status"]) == wantedStatus && num(r["Total"]) > minAmount).ToList().

Related activities

• Find Data Row — get only the first matching row.
• Sort DataTable — sort the filtered result.
• Aggregate Column — sum/count over the filtered rows.
• Group By — summarize by categories.