At the top left of any TyBugs task list window is a “filter” menu. This menu contains a number of preset filters. As you become more proficient at using the TyBugs software, it is possible for you to customise this list.

Preset Filters

Some preset filters which are likely to be useful to you are:

• My Tasks– showing the list of tasks which are currently assigned to you for processing. This is the default view displayed when you open TyBugs. Anything on this list is your responsibility. If you feel that there is something on this list that is not your responsibility, then it is your responsibility to ensure that it gets passed on to the correct person. If in doubt, contact your team lead or the project administrator.
• My Entered Tasks– showing the list of tasks which you have personally entered into TyBugs. This can be useful if you want to check the status of an existing task that you’ve entered, or if you’ve misplaced a task.
• Unfiltered– this shows the complete list of tasks to which you have viewing access. This can be a very large list if you are involved in a busy project, so generally you will prefer a custom filter to the unfiltered view, but on occasion it can be useful.

Customising the Filter

Unless you are in ‘unfiltered’ view, there is a small disclosure triangle to the left of the filter menu. Clicking this icon will show and hide the details of the active filter. If you begin editing this, the filter menu will change to display “Custom…” which indicates that you are viewing a customised filter. Each filter is comprised of one or more rows, each which adds a further restriction on the tasks that are displayed. You can add or remove filter rows using the (+) and (-) buttons to the right of the row.

At the left of each row is a popup menu describing the data element to be filtered. To the right of this is a field where you can specify your search terms. Only tasks that match every row of the filter will be displayed.

You will often create filters on a temporary basis, and switch back to a preset filter after your work is done. It may be useful to open multiple task list windows with different filters so that you can compare the lists. Once you switch a particular window back to a preset filter, any custom filter that you were using is discarded. If you wish to save a particular custom filter for regular use, then you should click the “Save” button on the top right of the window. This button is only visible when you have specified a custom filter.

Filter Fields

The following filter options are currently available for tasks-

• Number – Each task is assigned a unique task number by the TyBugs software. These numbers can be used to refer to the task in filters, or when communicating with other users. If you want to view specific task numbers, you can enter the task number into this filter field. You may enter multiple numbers, separated by commas.
• Summary – This filter field allows you to search for a particular text string which occurs in the summary field of the task. Multiple words separated by spaces are permitted, however an exact match for the search phrase is expected in this case. Search terms will match larger words or phrases that include the term.
• Priority – This filter field allows your to search for tasks of a particular priority (“high”, “medium”, or “low”.)
• Assigned To – This filter field allows you to search for tasks assigned to a particular user. You must specify the full and exact user name; partial matches are not accepted.
• Entered By – This filter field allows you to search for tasks entered by a particular user. You must specify the full and exact user name; partial matches are not accepted.
• Dependencies – This filter field allows you to search for tasks with the specified number of incomplete dependency tasks. This is most commonly used for searching for tasks with zero outstanding dependency tasks. This excludes tasks which cannot be worked on at the current time due to outstanding dependencies.
• Status – This filter field allows you to search for tasks with a specific status. Partial matches are accepted. The following search terms are available: “Open”, “Complete (Unverified)”, “Verified Complete”, “Re-opened”.
• Assigned To Group – This filter field allows you to search for tasks entered by users belonging to a specific user group. You must specify the full and exact user group name; partial matches are not accepted.
• Branch – This filter field allows you to search for tasks which are present in specific branches. You may specify partial branch names.
• Details – This filter field allows you to search for a particular text string which occurs in the details field of the task. Multiple words separated by spaces are permitted, however an exact match for the search phrase is expected in this case. Search terms will match larger words or phrases that include the term.
• Comment – This filter field allows you to search for a particular text string which occurs in the most recent comment on the task. Multiple words separated by spaces are permitted, however an exact match for the search phrase is expected in this case. Search terms will match larger words or phrases that include the term.
• Dependency Tasks – This filter field allows you to search for tasks which are dependant on a specified task number. You may enter multiple numbers, separated by commas.
• Duration – This filter allows you to search for tasks of a specified estimated duration.

Advanced Filter Text

Most filter fields allow you to specify multiple terms separated by commas. For example, a summary filter for “test, task” would display tasks including the words “smoke test” or “new task”. A task is considered to pass this filter once any single matching term is found. (This is “OR” logic.)

Whitespace at the beginning or end of a search term is typically stripped. Whitespace within a search term is considered part of the search term.

If you wish to enter multiple required terms, you can add multiple filter rows which filter on the same field. For example, two separate summary filter rows for “test” and “task” would display tasks including “test task”, “task test”, and “this task is a difficult test”. (This is “AND” logic.)

Most filter fields allow you to use a “NOT” operator, which shows tasks which do not match the specified term. Simply place an exclamation mark at the beginning of the term. For example “!test, task” will show “this task is difficult”, but will exclude “this task is a difficult test” and “smoke test”.

Most filter fields allow you to enclose a term in double quotes ( ” ) which prevents the parsing of commas or the “NOT” operator and forces the inclusion of any whitespace enclosed in the quotes.

Status across Multiple Branches

TBD: The interaction of the “status” field with multiple branches.