Filtering portal rows with a calculation

Intermediate

Use the portal's Filter Records option to show only a subset of related records based on a Boolean calculation, reducing noise without changing the underlying relationship.

What you'll learn

How to write a portal filter calculation
How portal filtering differs from relationship-level filtering
Performance implications of portal filters on large related sets

Portal filtering lets you display only the related records that meet a condition — without creating a separate relationship or changing the found set.

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Open the portal filter option

In Layout mode, double-click the portal to open Portal Setup. Click the "Filter records" checkbox at the bottom of the dialog. Enter a Boolean calculation — rows where the calculation returns True (non-zero, non-empty) are shown.

FileMaker Script

# Show only open orders in the portal:
Orders::Status = "Open"

# Show orders from the last 30 days:
Orders::OrderDate ≥ ( Get ( CurrentDate ) - 30 )

# Show rows where the current user is the assigned rep:
Orders::AssignedTo = Get ( AccountName )

Adding a portal to display related records Sorting portal rows: relationship sort vs portal sort