Data Selection (Filters)
The Data Selection (Filters) page/ Filters tab allows the user to specify the types of contacts which are suitable to be called during the campaign (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 - Data Selection (Filters) - Web Client
Filters are simply SQL SELECT statements of the form:
SELECT * FROM <campaign table> WHERE <filter>
There are two ways of specifying filters:
- Structured - allowing the user to construct simple filters using dropdowns to select the campaign fields. Their use is described below.
- Free Form - allowing the user to enter their own WHERE clause in SQL form for more flexible and precise data selection. Their use is described in Free Form Filters.
For both structured and free form filters, the filter behaviour selected will also be applied to the record selection for retries and reschedules (callbacks). This may mean that some existing retries and reschedules that fall outside the new filter criteria will be missed.
It is important to remember that the more complex the data selection, the slower database access will become when the campaign is running. This is particularly pertinent to free form filtering as this is capable of performing more complex data selection.
If using filters to share a list (table) with multiple campaigns, see Managing Filters > 'Limit retries by filter criteria' below.
Using Filters
Each filter can be composed of multiple conditions which must all be satisfied (i.e. AND logic).
If more than one filter is added to a campaign, a contact that satisfies any of the filters will be contacted (i.e. OR logic).
In Fig. 1, two filters have been added to the campaign. When the campaign is started, (if each filter is enabled) only females aged 18 to 40 or males aged 20 to 30 will be contacted. Any contacts not satisfying either of the filters will be ignored.
Structured filters will not work if you have selected Use Quoted Identifiers (See Database Input). In this case you will need to use Free Form Filters with the required quoting.
If no filters are specified (or enabled), then all contacts are called.
Managing filters
The following buttons are used to control filter selection:
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Add | Allows the user to add and edit a new filter. See Adding/ editing filters below. |
| Edit | Allows the user to edit an existing filter selected from the filter list. See Adding/ editing filters below. |
| Copy | Copies the selected filter to the same window. This is a useful editing shortcut if the user wishes to create two separate filters which are similar - as in Fig. 1 above. |
| Copy from... | Allows filters to be copied between campaigns. Copies all of the filters from the selected campaign to the current campaign. This is a useful editing shortcut if the user wishes to create several similar campaigns. Template campaigns can also be used to achieve this if you are creating a campaign from scratch. |
| Remove | Removes the selected filter from the filter list. |
| Enable/ Disable | Allows filters to be enabled and disabled. In addition, these buttons may be used in conjunction with the Test Selection button to test the operation of the filter before applying it to the campaign. |
| Test | Allows filters to be tested before applying them to the campaign. When the Test Selection button is pressed, the result of all enabled filters is reported (see Testing filters below). |
'Limit retries by filter criteria'
This feature allows retries and callbacks to be processed where they would normally be excluded due to filter selection. Normally this option should be left unchecked. Check the box only if using filters to share a list (table) with multiple campaigns.
This was moved from the Database Input tab to the Filters tab in V10.6.
Adding/ editing filters
To add a filter, press the Add (Filter) button.
To edit a filter, select the filter, and press the Edit (Filter) button.
The user will be presented with the Filter Editor (Fig. 2):
Fig. 2 - Filter Editor - Web Client
Filter Editor
The user should first set the Filter name. Use a phrase that describes the function of the filter.
The filter name may consist only of letters (A-Z), numbers (0-9), spaces, hyphens and underscores.
List of conditions
The list box in this popup contains the conditions of the filter being edited. If more than one condition is specified for a filter, a contact must satisfy all conditions if it is to be called.
In Fig. 2, the user has already added three conditions to define this filter.
For a contact to be picked by this filter,
- 'Title' must be 'Mr',
- 'Age' must be greater than or equal to 20,
- 'Age' must be less than or equal to 30.
Any contact that does not satisfy all of these conditions will not be picked by this filter (but may still be picked by another filter).
A filter cannot consist of no conditions.
Adding/ editing conditions
To add a new condition to a filter, press Add.
To edit an existing condition, select the condition in the listbox, and press Edit.
The user will then be presented with the Filter Condition Editor (Fig. 3):
Fig. 3 - Filter Condition Editor - Web Client
Filter Condition Editor
Do the following:
- select the database column from your contact database that the condition is based upon
- select the comparison operation to apply to it
- type in the value which the column is to be compared against.
Take care to make sure that the data column is of the right type for the comparison operation you are attempting to perform. In this example, if the Age column is defined as characters, then the is greater than or equal to comparison will not work correctly.
A future enhancement to Softdial Campaign Manager™ will provide the user with type information and allow selection only of the appropriate comparisons for the data type which has been selected.
Press OK to commit this condition to the filter.
To remove an existing condition, select the condition in the listbox, and press Remove.
Testing filters
When you have finished creating your filters, you can test each one individually or as a set using the Test Selection button.
In order to test a filter, it must be Enabled. If more than one filter is enabled the selection will be based on all enabled filters.
Filter testing can be carried out while the campaign is running or when it is stopped (but not suspended). If the campaign is stopped the test results will take slightly longer to be presented.
Fig. 4 shows the Test Result dialog. Note that both the number of fresh (undialed) rows and eligible retry rows is given. If the campaign is at the end of the list the number of fresh rows will be zero. This facility allows filters to be fine tuned before they are applied to the live campaign. In Fig. 2 only the Males aged 20 to 30 filter is enabled so only the rows that meet this criteria are counted.
