Criteria Operators

Criteria operators filter the criteria fields to define the exact conditions a record must meet to appear in the query results.

For example, to create a query of all constituents who donated $10 or more to your organization, use the Gift Type and Gift Amount criteria fields to filter constituent information. To see only constituents who donated $10 or more, use a criteria operator to specify that Gift Type “equals” Cash and Gift Amount is “greater than or equal to $10'.

For example, if you want to create a query of all constituents with a specific first name, you can use the First Name criteria field and select the Equals operator for an exact match. If you want to include constituents whose first name only partially matches your search, use the Like, Contains, or Begins with operators instead.

Operators

  • Equals — Records must have the exact entry you define.

  • Does not equal — Records must not match the entry you define.

  • Greater than — Records must have a value greater than the one you define.

  • Greater than or equal to — Records must have a value greater than or equal to the one you define.

  • Less than — Limit records to those with a value less than the value you define.

  • Less than or equal to — Records must have a value less than or equal to the value you define.

  • One of — Records must have at least one of the entries you define.

  • Not one of — Records must not contain any of the entries you define.

  • Between — Records must fall within the range you define.

  • Not between — Records must not fall within the range you specify.

  • Blank — Records must be blank in the field you specify.

  • Not blank — Records must have an entry in the field you specify.

  • Contains — Records include the value you define anywhere in the field.

  • Does not contain — Records must not include the defined entry anywhere in the specified field.

  • Begins with — Records must start exactly with the value you define.

  • Does not begin with — Records must not have any entry that starts with the value you define.

  • Like — Records can match a pattern you specify, with wildcard characters replacing one or more characters.

  • Not like — Records must not be spelled like the entry you define. You can use wildcard characters with this operator.

  • Sounds like — Records can be selected when you do not have the exact spelling of the entry.

  • <Ask> — The “ask” operator means you select values at runtime. This lets you postpone the selection of specific values for your criteria fields until the time you run the query.

Combine operators

To narrow your query further, combine separate sets of criteria fields. Combining operators link criteria and define the records in the query:

Select And/Or to toggle between the two operators:

  • Use And between criteria fields to indicate records must meet both criteria.

  • Use Or between fields to indicate records can meet either criteria.

Parentheses group criteria fields and provide structure for complex queries. Use parentheses if the query meets both of the following conditions:

  • The query includes three or more criteria fields.

  • The query uses both And and Or operators to link criteria fields.

Note: The location of parentheses affects query results. If you change where you place the parentheses, the query results will also change.

For example, you may want to query for South Carolina constituents who either have a constituent code of Board Member or a gift amount of at least $1000. Select the State, Constituency Code, and Gift Amount criteria fields, then select operators and values for each:

  • State equals South Carolina

  • Constituency Code equals Board Member

  • Gift Amount greater than or equal to $1,000

Combine the criteria fields with operators:

State equals South Carolina

AND (Constituency Code equals Board Member

OR Gift Amount greater than or equal to $1,000)