Searching for Specific Values

When filtering the data in a visual or working with lists, you can quickly search for values that interest you.

You can search for specific values or all values that contain a specific search query. For example, searching for al in a list of U.S. states returns Alabama, Alaska, and California.

You can also use wildcard search to search for all values that match a specific character pattern. For example, you can search for all U.S. states that end with the letters ia and narrow the results down to California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

These wildcard characters can be used to find values in filters, lists, and anomaly previews:

  • * - Use an asterisk symbol to search for values that match zero to many characters in a specific position.
  • ? - Use a question mark to match a single character in a specific position.
  • \ - Use a backslash to escape the *, ?, or \ wildcard characters and search for them in your query. For example, you can search for phrases that end with a question mark.

Examples of how supported wildcard characters can be used in a search query:

  • al - This query searches for all values with al and returns Alabama, Alaska, and California in a list of U.S. states.
  • al* - This query searches for all values that begin with al and end with zero to multiple characters. It returns Alabama, and Alaska.
  • *ia - This query searches for all values that begin with zero to multiple characters and end with ia. It returns California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
  • *al* - This query searches for all values with zero to multiple characters before and after the letters al. It returns Alabama, Alaska, and California.
  • a?a?a?a - This query searches for all values with a single character in the exact positions between the a letters. It returns Alabama.
  • a?a*a - This query searches for all values with a single character between the first two a letters and multiple characters between the second two a letters. It returns Alabama and Alaska.
  • How*\? - This query searches for values that begin with How, followed by zero to multiple characters, and end with a question mark. The backslash (\) in this query is used to search for question marks in each value, rather than use the question mark symbol as a wildcard character.
  • \** - This query searches for values that begin with an asterisk and are followed by zero to multiple characters. The backslash (\) in this query is used to search for an actual asterisk in the values, rather than use the asterisk symbol as a wildcard character.
  • \\* - This query searches for values with a backslash, followed by zero to multiple characters. The first backslash (\) in this query is used to search for the second backslash (\) in each value, rather than use the backslash symbol as a wildcard character.
  • ??? - This query searches for values that contain three characters.