Let’s talk about a Submittable fan-favorite—search filters.
Filters are your key to understanding your application data, answering key questions in a flash, and so much more. Plus, the more savvy you become at using labels and auto labels, the more value you'll get out of filters over time.
What are filters?
Filters greet you at the top of the Submittable product home screen, your submission list page.
Simply click on the Show Filters button to expand all the filters available to you.
How to use filters
Open the Show filters bar, and choose the type of filter you wish to apply and the corresponding selection. You can filter by multiple categories at once.
Each filter has a specific set of options, some of which are system defined (such as Status) and some of which are defined by your inputs (such as Projects and Labels).
After applying filters, you can check for a quick count of submissions that match, take a bulk action, such as sending an Additional Form or moving to a new Review Stage, thumb through the submission set, and more.
Read more about using search filters, including a definition of each filter and any pre-defined options, in our Help Center.
Labels for the win
The more—and the more cleverly—you use labels, the more helpful your filters will be. Remember:
You can use auto labels to ensure your submissions come through with all the helpful labels you need. In the last year or so, we added auto labels to ALL of your Forms (except Eligibility) so be sure to take advantage of them in Review Forms, Additional Forms, and more.
You’re only going to see ONE universal list of labels, so using the “Custom Auto Label” feature can really help you find the one you are looking for.
Did you start reviewing, only to realize you’re missing a label that would be really helpful? Never fear—you can also apply labels manually! Plus, if you’re still collecting applications when you realize this, you can quickly update your Form to automatically label all new submissions going forward.
Don’t forget: You can filter by including AND excluding labels, as well as by "Has any of selected" OR "Has all of selected". This gives you the flexibility to find exactly what you need.
Query your applications
In conjunction with labels, filters are your self-service tool to get quick answers to virtually any question regarding your set of application data. At your fingertips are answers to common questions such as:
How many applicants from {demographic group} were {accepted/declined}?
How many of our awardees within {funding range} are focused on {priority area}?
How many outstanding reviews are there in {review stage} for {project}?
The more you get used to applying labels and using filters to match the FAQs that most influence your day-to-day work, the better you’ll get at applying the right labels in advance. And you can rest easy knowing that when an unexpected question pops up from a stakeholder, or you receive a FOIA request, the answer is likely just a few clicks away.
Tips & Tricks
Bookmark your favorite filters
This banger came from the heroes on our support team. Any time you input a filter you know will help you again, bookmark it to your browser to easily revisit it.
If you’re a filter aficionado using Google Chrome, you can even create a new bookmark folder. To access it while working in Submittable, in your Chrome browser, click the three-dot hamburger menu in the top right corner, select bookmarks and lists, and then choose Show all bookmarks. From here you can create or open your favorite Submittable filters right alongside Submittable.
Manage a growing library of labels over time
Try adding the year to the start of your labels for annual programs or use another internal shorthand that works for you. If there’s a particular label you’re working with, you can even add an asterisk to see it at the top of the list—and remove it later!
Don’t forget to include archived submissions
Having trouble finding a particular submission? Don’t forget to set the “Include” filter to “All” to include any archived submissions.
We hope these ideas help you get even more value out of your Submittable secret weapon. With feedback or anything else you'd like to share, feel free to let us know what's on your mind. We'll see you next month.