Using "Old" AX filtering techniques in D365FO

When I worked daily in AX 2012, filtering became my best friend. I appreciated the "Ctrl + g" grid filtering header that opened on all of my forms and allowed me to search my data by using all of the great filter and query options listed in the article below:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamicsax-2012/appuser-itpro/advanced-filtering-and-query-options

Looking for a Customer that starts with G, ends with V, and is not Gustav? Sure thing!

G**V, !Gustav

AX 2012 was great for using these filtering techniques.

When I started in D365FO, I was very confused and overwhelmed by the filtering options. Why couldn't I just type in my special syntax and get to what I needed? If I typed in a comma, it was looking for a comma in the customer's name. If I typed in an exclamation point, it wouldn't filter out what I wanted it to, it was looking for that syntax in my values!

Now, most of the options in D365FO met my needs quite well.

When filtering, I had the option to select one of the following:

Filtering options in the grid

• is exactly - does exactly what it says, finds an exact match to whatever you type in below, filter equivalent "" 
• is not - is the equivalent of ! in your filter, but requires an exact match to work
• contains - is the equivalent of **, very popular for filtering
• does not contain - is the equivalent of !** and will exclude these selections from your filtered view
• begins with - is the equivalent of x*
• is one of - works with multiple options, similar to using a comma in your query
• after - is the equivalent of 1/1/2021.., for showing dates after 1/1/2021. Or W.. for showing all values that start with letters after W (X, Y, and Z).
• before - in the equivalent of ..1/1/2021, for showing dates before 1/1/2021. Or ..D for showing all values that start with letters before D (numbers, A, B, and C). 
• matches - and THIS is the one I want to discuss more!

Matches filter

It's easy to bypass the matches filter. It's at the bottom of the list, and usually, you will find what you are looking for by the time you get to matches. I didn't pay very much attention to it until an AX friend named Zvika mentioned to me that I could create my filters using the matches options.

Say what, now?

Yes, you heard that right!

Now, let's take our example from above. I have two customers that meet the criteria G**V. I want to see only Customers that start with G, end with V, and are not Gustav (or G**V, !Gustav).

Two Customers meeting my criteria

I select the filter matches and enter my query as I would in AX:

Enter my specific query with special syntax using matches

And I get the expected result!

Expected result removed Gustav from my Customers that started with a G and ended with a V

If you like the AX filtering options and just aren't ready to stop using them, this is for you! Sometimes you need to have multiple filtering options, and the matches filter gives you the flexibility that you had when using AX 2012 (and AX 2009). Let me know if you use this and if it works for you. Also, let me know if you have other filtering tips and tricks and if this was something new for you!