How To Create And Manage Smartfilters

Summary

Smartfilters are convenient drop-down menus located at the top of the Asset Bank. Each Smartfilter can hold one or more metaproperties. The metaproperties in the Smartfilter show a count next to each option, making it easy for users to find assets quickly. By configuring Smartfilter dependencies, you can create a dynamic filtering experience that guides users through a structured, tiered filtering process. This feature is particularly helpful for organizations with extensive asset libraries, as it improves search accuracy and helps users find relevant content more quickly.

Who?

This feature/solution is enabled by a Bynder Admin.

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Users with the Manage smartfilters permission can create, edit, and remove smartfilters.

Why?

A Smartfilter drop-down can present a single metaproperty, like Year, for users to choose from. It can also include multiple metaproperties, which is beneficial for logically connected metaproperties such as Continent, Country, and City. Users can make one metaproperty dependent on another, allowing for even more efficiency and clarity. Adding metaproperties to your Smartfilter helps streamline content discovery in the Asset Bank by narrowing down initial search results, making it easier for users to find exactly what they need.

How?

Creating A Smartfilter

  1. Navigate to the portal.
  2. Select Settings > Taxonomy > Smartfilter Management.
  3. Click +Add in the top right corner. 
  4. Enter or Select Filter Details:
    1. Z-Index: This number determines the filter's position from left to right at the top of the Asset Bank. Lower numbers place the filter further to the left.
      • Leave space between index values (e.g., 10, 20, 30) to simplify adding new filters in the future without reordering existing ones.
    2. Use icons from Font Awesome.

      • To use an icon, click it on the Font Awesome website to view the full name, then copy and paste it into the Icon field.fontawesome_example

        Note: Font Awesome version 5 or above icons are not supported.

    3. Select the filter type.
      1. To add metaproperties, make sure the filter type is meta. Smartfilters support both Single-Select and Multi-Select metaproperties, as well as date type metaproperties, but not text type metaproperties.

      2. In the Metaproperty column, open the drop-down list and select the metaproperty to be added.

        Note: Metaproperties display their database name in the selection list but will appear by their label in the Smartfilter within the Asset Bank.

        Note: Each metaproperty can only be added to one Smartfilter. If assigned to multiple Smartfilters, it will display only under the first Smartfilter.

      3. To add more metaproperties, click the plus sign button next to each row as needed.
      4. Select the filter optimization options.
    4. (Optional) Select Customize Language. Enter the filter label in English. If your portal supports additional languages, also enter translations for those languages. (English is the default language.)
    5. Select Save, changes will not be saved if users move to another row before saving. 

Editing A Smartfilter

  1. Navigate to Settings >Account> Smartfilter Management
  2. Select the filter to edit and select the gear icon.
  3. Make the edits.
  4. Click Save to apply the updates. Bynder will automatically update the assets associated with this Smartfilter based on the new criteria.Screenshot 2025-01-15 at 3.25.52 PM.png

Deleting A Smartfilter

  1. Navigate to Settings > Account > Smartfilter Management.
  2. Click the trash can next to the selection to be deleted.
  3. Click Delete to confirm. This action cannot be undone.

Creating Smartfilter Dependencies

  1. Navigate to Settings > Account > Smartfilter management.
  2. Click the gear icon next to the filter to be edited.
  3.  In the Dependency column, select the dependent metaproperty. Screenshot 2024-02-14 at 4.06.41 PM.png
  4. Check the box next to Show options based on dependencies.
  5. Click the save icon (floppy disk).

Filtering On Date-Type Metaproperties

  1. Navigate to the Portal > Asset Tab.
  2. Select Smartfilter from the filtering options.
  3. In the Smartfilter panel, find and select the Date-type Metaproperties.

  4. Choose a date or date range:

    • Single Date: Select a specific date (e.g., 01-Sept-2024).
    • Date Range: Define a start and end date (e.g., 01-Jan-2023 to 31-March-2023).

    Alternatively, enter the dates by keyboard in the fields.

  5. Apply the filter to see assets that match the selected date criteria.

Enabling Smartfilter Drilldown Results

  1. As a Bynder Admin, select Settings > Advanced settings > Portal settings.

2. Navigate to the section Drilldown results.

 

3. The page will show a bar to search and select the metaproperties. Every metaproperty selected in this bar will be set as OR. All the others will be set as AND.

Note: AND returns assets matching all specified information, whereas OR returns assets matching any specified information.

4. Select the metaproperties to set as OR and press save. The change will be applied immediately.

Filter Types

Advanced: Adds an Advanced filter with default options. 

Color: Adds a color picker filter for filtering assets by primary hex code. The color picker cannot filter color ranges.

Meta: Displays metaproperties in the smartfilter. 

Tags: Displays the top 25 most frequently tagged keywords.

Media Without: At the top of the Smartfilter, there will be an option called Media Without that shows any asset that currently does not have that metaproperty set, meaning there is no value filled in, for that specific metaproperty. This feature allows users to quickly locate assets that might be missing metadata.

Additional Smartfilter Settings

  • Show image/ icon: This can be enabled if you are setting Grid or Select as your Type. It shows an image or icon in front of the Metaproperty Option in the Smartfilter. 
    • If images/icons are set up on the Metaproperty option level, then this should be enabled.
  • Show counter (recommended): Shows the number of assets tagged with each option
    Z-index: Controls the display order of metaproperties in the Smartfilter.

  • Show bulk search option: This option enables the bulk searching feature in the smartfilter, a fast and reliable way to filter and find hundreds of metaproperty options. 

  • Lazy Loading: Loads filter options incrementally as the user scrolls. Ideal for lists with 50+ options.
  • Full Screen: Displays the filter dropdown in full-screen mode, covering the Asset Overview. Best for large filters.
  • Close When Selected: This option closes the filter dropdown after each selection. It is not recommended if users often apply multiple filters.
  • Dependency: Links metaproperties by making one dependent on another’s selection.
  • Show options based on dependencies: If enabled the only options displayed in the child filter are those that are dependent on the option chosen in the parent filter.

Tips for Managing Smartfilters

  • Test The Changes: After editing, run a search using the Smartfilter to ensure it returns the desired results.
  • Keep Naming Consistent: Use descriptive and clear names for filters to make them easier to identify and use.
  • Communicate Updates: If team members rely on Smartfilters, inform them of any significant changes to avoid confusion.

FAQs

How is date-type smartfiltering different than searching via an advanced filter using the date filter?
The Advanced Date filter shows only the date an asset was Added by or Published, not for any specific Date-type metaproperties.

Can I set date-type Smartfilters up with more than one metaproperty?
It can be used in a Smartfilter with just one metaproperty or multiple. In the case of multiple metaproperties, it can be combined with any other smartfilter type.

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