Introduction to Filters

Filters control which records are extracted from source systems during a migration or data extraction. By applying filters, you can limit the scope of your operations to only the records you need — reducing execution time, memory usage, and the risk of migrating unwanted data.

Where Filters Are Used

Filters appear in two step types:

Migrate Records — the Filter tab lets you define which records are extracted from the source table before field mappings are applied
Extract Records — the Filter tab limits which records are fetched into the output record list

In both cases, the filter is applied at extraction time — only records matching the filter are processed.

Filter Types

Precision Bridge supports three filter types, each suited to different scenarios.

Standard Filter

The most common filter type. Standard filters are built using the visual filter builder in the UI, where you define conditions by selecting a field, an operator, and a value.

Standard filters work with all connection types. Precision Bridge translates them into the appropriate query language for each source system (SQL for databases, encoded queries for ServiceNow, etc.).

Use when: You need a straightforward filter with field comparisons, and you want the filter to be portable across different source types.

See Filter Operators and Combining Conditions for the full standard filter reference.

Native Filter

A raw query string passed directly to the source system's query API without modification. This gives you access to the full power of the source system's native query language.

Use when: The standard filter can't express your query — for example, ServiceNow encoded queries with JavaScript expressions like assigned_to=javascript:gs.getUserID(), or Jira JQL with functions like currentUser().

See Native Query Filters for details and examples.

Basic Filter

A simple key-value equality filter where each field must exactly match a specified value. All conditions are combined with AND.

Use when: Your filter uses only equality comparisons — no >, <, contains, and so on — on a single field-value pair or a small number of them combined with AND. For example, [status] = "active", or [active] = true AND [category] = "hardware".

Choosing a Filter Type

Scenario	Recommended Type
Simple field comparisons (equality, greater than, contains)	Standard
Complex logic with AND/OR/NOT groups	Standard
ServiceNow encoded query with JavaScript expressions	Native
Jira JQL with built-in functions	Native
Database-specific SQL features (subqueries, LIKE patterns)	Native
Equality-only match on one or a few fields, combined with AND	Basic
Portable filter that works across multiple source types	Standard

Dynamic Filtering

Filter values don't have to be static. The right-hand side of a filter condition can:

Reference procedure variables — enabling parameterized, reusable procedures
Use formula expressions — enabling computed filter values

See Using Variables in Filters and Formulas in Filters for details.

Configuring the Filter — walkthrough of the Filter tab on a Migrate Records step
Child Filter Auto-Configuration — automatic filtering for parent-child relationships
Formula Language — full formula syntax reference