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P-TN-010-015-
Filter and Flag Usage
Product Services Group
P-TN-010-015-Filter and Flag Usage
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................ 2
2 DEFINITIONS................................................................................................. 2
2.1 FLAGS ................................................................................................................ 2
2.2 FILTERS .............................................................................................................. 3
2.2.1 Dynamic Filters.............................................................................................. 3
2.2.2 Static Filters................................................................................................... 4
3 DEFINING FLAGS IN ADMINSTRATOR ...................................................... 4
10 SUMMARY................................................................................................... 14
10.1 FLAGS .............................................................................................................. 15
10.2 FILTERS ............................................................................................................ 15
APPENDIX A - TABLE OF FIGURES .............................................................. 15
1 INTRODUCTION
This document presents a practical guide to using filters and flags in
ENTERPRISE. This document exists in addition to the ENTERPRISE, ASSET
and CONNECT User Reference Guides but can be used as a standalone
document. This document describes the use of filters and flags in Version 4.1 of
ENTERPRISE.
2 DEFINITIONS
2.1 FLAGS
Flags are primarily used to enable the administrator or project manager to
administrate and oversee the progression of the network from initial design to
rollout and beyond. Within the network, flags can be defined to show whether a
Property or site is Proposed, Under Development or Operational.
Flags are:
• Only able to be created and Committed when all users are logged out
One flag exists in every new database, which relates to a network element's
Candidate status. This flag cannot be deleted or modified. All other flags have
to be created.
Examples of flag groups and flags that you might want for sites or Properties
could include:
Flag Group Flags
You might also want to create flags to use on links so that planners or project
managers can follow the progress of each link as it is established. Examples of
flags that you might use for links are:
• Hop length
2.2 FILTERS
Filters are a highly important concept, and a very useful feature in
ENTERPRISE. Filters provide a logical grouping of elements according to their
properties and/or functions. They offer a powerful way of dividing up the
network into more manageable sections for analysis, diagnosis and display.
That is, they allow the user to view only relevant information and hide
unwanted information from display so it is easier to concentrate on selected
areas of data or work. Filters can display:
• All sites
• Sub groups of sites
• Geographical regions
• Site properties
• Functional properties
• Logical groupings of sites
Filters can:
• Only be Applied and used if information or data has already been entered
into the database
• Object type
• A flag's setting
Such filters are termed dynamic because the list of items that are included will
automatically be updated whenever a change is made to any of the parameters
forming the filter definition criteria.
Both types of filter are defined, modified or removed through the Filter Wizard.
The wizard is accessed from the Site Database.
Tip : Ensure that all users are logged out of ENTERPRISE before you begin,
otherwise you will not be able to commit your changes. Users must be logged
out to enable flag creation and will only be able to see new flags after logging
back in.
4. In the Groups pane, (on the left-hand side) click the Add button.
5. Type in the name of the Group and press OK.
• Site Database
• Filter Wizard
• Global Editor
If you add further flag groups or flags, this does not affect existing network
elements other than to add the first default flag of any new group to them.
If at a later stage in a project, you delete a flag that is not used from a flag
group, it will not affect existing network elements. If you delete a flag that is in
use for a network element, the flag for the element will default to the first flag
in the group.
Ideally, all flag groups and flags should be created at the start of a project.
To export flags:
If amending more than one site the Commit All button can be used to commit
all changes.
4. This shows the current Flag Groups and Flag settings. The flag showing for
each group is the first flag defined in that group:
Note : If no flags have been created then there will be no selection within the
General tab.
5. Click the flag that you want to change and from the menu that appears,
choose one of the other flags.
To change the flag settings for multiple links simultaneously, use the Global
Editor, as described on page 12.
6 DEFINING FILTERS
To create a new Filter:
The Filters window appears displaying any existing filter folders and filters
that have already been defined. If none have, the window looks like this:
2. Select the Filter Database folder (or if other folders exist, the required
folder) and click the Add button.
3. In the Filter Wizard that opens, name the Filter then click Next.
The Filter Wizard now displays a list of available attributes, which can be
selected to define the filter.
5. When you have added all the element types and criteria to the Selected
Attributes pane, choose OR as the logical operator, meaning that a value
will be returned if any of the attributes are present. If you have two items
beneath the operator, you can change it to AND, meaning that a value will
only be returned if all of the attributes are present.
6. Click Next and define the exact rule for the element type or criterion by
highlighting it in the Selected Attributes pane, and if applicable, selecting a
rule definition (for example Equals). You can also negate the rule definition
(for example, Not Equal To), by selecting the Not checkbox. To choose
which values you want to filter on, click the Values button, and select those
required.
7. Click Next and in the final window, choose the type of filter you require
from Dynamic or Static to determine whether the filter inclusions should
adapt to changes in the relevant parameters, or remain unaffected and static
(be controlled only by the user). Using the Static filter option may seem
simpler to begin with, but as the network and volume of sites expands,
Dynamic filters will probably prove to be more powerful and easier to use.
8. Click Finish to complete the filter and Click Commit All to commit the
filter.
In Step 3 of the Filter Wizard, the user has set the definitive rules.
In the case of flag groups, highlighting the group and clicking on the Values
button allows you to choose the the individual flag(s) that you want to filter on:
7 USES OF FILTERS
There are a variety of ways in which filters can be useful:
• On any wizard to control which sites or links various actions are applied to
Figure 6 Site Database displaying default ‘All’ Filter and a filter of sites
You can also customize the display characteristics of each filter’s sites or links.
2. In the Global Editor, in the Filter box, select the filter to be used.
3. Select the checkbox for the flag group and choose the flag that you want to
apply to the items in the filter and click Apply.
4. Confirm that the changes have been applied in the Site Database. If there is
a requirement for other users to see the changes, also click Commit. Other
users will have to log out and log in to be able to view the changes.
8 MANAGING FILTERS
You can edit, remove and restore filters easily from the Filters Database.
If another user has made changes to the filter prior to another user removing the
filter, the user attempting to remove the filter will be advised that changes have
been made. Removal will not be possible at that time.
When the filter has been deleted from the Wastebasket then it cannot be
restored.
Users will be required to log out and then back in to see any changes that have
been made.
9 DISPLAYING FILTERS
As well as appearing in the Site Database window, when you have defined a
filter, it appears in the list of data types that you can display in the Map View
window. As with other items in the list of data types, you can double-click a
filter to change its display properties. You can customise such things as symbol
size and colour, hexagon type and outline, and which textual elements to
display.
The Map View window is able to display more than one filter at a time – by
changing the properties of the display, you can distinguish between different
filters.
All filters defined in the Filter Wizard are available to be applied to a large
number of features within ENTERPRISE. Examples being:
• BSIC Planner
• Carrier Assignment
• Cell Reporter
• Cost Matrix Wizard
• Create Coverage/Interference
• Exporting data
• Frequency Plan Report Generator
• Interference Table Wizard
• Link Reporter
• Neighbour Data
• Site Reporter
• Traffic Analysis
This list is not definitive and subject to the applications installed there are many
more.
10 SUMMARY
Flags and Filters are extremely useful tools for both the project manager and
users. If defined correctly and comprehensively:
10.1 FLAGS
Flags are used for project management. They enable the user and project
manager to monitor the progression of the network. Flags can be used in
conjunction with filters to display only the required information.
It is suggested that you finalize your flag groups and flags at the start of the
project as if you remove flags later, this might impact on existing data. When
creating flags, all other users should be logged out.
In ASSET, there is a default flag setting of Candidate Status, all new sites are
automatically assigned to this flag.
Flags may be imported from PLANET/EET R2C and NEPTUNE. The flags
that have already been created in the database will be overwritten by the
imported flags.
10.2 FILTERS
Filters are extremely powerful tools for the user and can be used to display only
particular information for the planner or user to work on. Filters may be used in
conjunction with flags. Filters must be applied and then committed for other
users to be able to see the changes. All users are required to log out and then log
in to see them.
Filters can be displayed in the Map View window, in the Site Database and in
the Links Database in CONNECT.
Once created, filters can be applied to a large number of features within the
ENTERPRISE suite.
Figure 6 Site Database displaying default ‘All’ Filter and a filter of sites ..................12
Figure 7 Changing a flag using a filter in the Global Editor .......................................13