Filtering & Search

Overview

As timelines grow, filtering and search tools help you focus on specific subsets of events. Thea provides multiple ways to narrow down what you see.

Filter Types

Category Filter

Show only events from specific categories.

How to use:

1. Open the filter bar (usually visible at the top of the timeline)
2. Click on category chips to toggle them on/off
3. Selected categories highlight; timeline shows only those events
4. Click Clear Filters to show all events again

Use cases:

• Focus on financial transactions only
• Hide administrative events to see core legal actions
• Compare two specific categories side-by-side
• Isolate one type of event for review

Player Filter

Show only events involving specific players/parties.

How to use:

1. Open the filter bar
2. Click the Players dropdown
3. Select one or more players
4. Timeline shows only events where those players are involved
5. Clear selection to show all events

Use cases:

• Trace one person's actions through the case
• See all events involving the plaintiff
• Compare activities of two specific parties
• Isolate witness involvement

Date Range Filter

Focus on a specific time period.

How to use:

1. Click the Date Range button in the filter bar
2. Select start and end dates using the date picker
3. Timeline zooms to show only events within that range
4. Click Clear or select "All time" to reset

Use cases:

• Focus on discovery period
• Examine events around a critical date
• Break large timelines into manageable chunks
• Create period-specific exports

Combined Filters

You can apply multiple filters simultaneously:

Example: Show only Financial events involving John Smith between Jan-Mar 2024

• Category filter: Financial ✓
• Player filter: John Smith ✓
• Date range: Jan 1 - Mar 31, 2024 ✓

Only events matching ALL criteria will appear.

Search Functionality

Timeline Search

Find and navigate through events using keyboard-driven search.

How to open search:

• Press Cmd+K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux)
• Or click the Search button in the toolbar

How to use:

1. Type your search term in the search box
2. Matching events are highlighted in gold
3. The currently focused event is highlighted in orange
4. Non-matching events are dimmed (30% opacity)
5. Press Tab to jump to next match
6. Press Shift+Tab to jump to previous match
7. The timeline automatically pans/scrolls to show the focused event
8. Press Enter or Escape to close search

What gets searched:

• Event party field
• Event action field
• Event description
• Event significance
• Event uncertainty notes
• Category names
• Player names (linked to events)
• Parties involved array
• Legal references array

Search behavior:

• Real-time results: Matches update as you type
• Case-insensitive: Search ignores capitalization
• Partial matches: "employ" finds "employee", "employer", "employment"
• Chronological order: Results are sorted by date (earliest to latest)
• Match counter: Shows "3 of 12 results" as you navigate
• Works across all views: Category Rows, Unified, and List View

Keyboard shortcuts:

• Cmd+K / Ctrl+K: Open/close search
• Tab: Next match
• Shift+Tab: Previous match
• Enter: Close search (keeps timeline centered on last focused event)
• Escape: Close search
• Clear (X button): Clear search query

Filter Bar Controls

Filter Chips

Active filters appear as chips in the filter bar:

• Category chips: Color-coded by category
• Player chips: Show player names
• Date chip: Shows selected date range

Click the X on any chip to remove that filter.

Quick Clear

The Clear All Filters button removes all active filters at once, returning to the full timeline view.

Filter Status Indicator

A badge shows how many events are currently visible vs. total:

"Showing 15 of 127 events"

This helps you understand how much you've filtered.

Advanced Filtering

Saving Filter Presets

For frequently-used filter combinations:

1. Set up your filters (category, player, date range)
2. Click Save Filter
3. Give it a name (e.g., "Q1 Financial Review")
4. Access saved filters from the filter dropdown

Use cases:

• Recurring review sessions
• Standard reporting periods
• Frequently-referenced subsets

Inverted Filters

Show everything EXCEPT selected filters:

• Hold Shift while clicking a category to exclude it
• Useful for hiding noise: "Show everything except Administrative"

(Feature availability may vary)

Search vs. Filter

Use Search when:

• Looking for a specific keyword or phrase
• Finding a particular event you remember details about
• Identifying events related to a specific topic

Use Filters when:

• Narrowing by structure (category, player, date)
• Analyzing a specific subset
• Preparing focused exports
• Reducing visual clutter

Use Both together:

• Filter to a category, then search within it for specific terms
• Search for a term, then filter by date to find recent mentions

Filtering in Different Views

Category Rows View

• Filtered categories dim or hide completely
• Remaining categories expand to use available space
• Timeline axis adjusts to show only filtered date range

Unified View

• Filtered events fade out or hide
• Remaining events re-space along the timeline
• Timeline compresses to focus on visible events

List View

• Filtered rows hide from the table
• Sort and search still work on visible rows
• Status indicator shows filtered count

Filtering for Export

Before exporting, apply filters to create focused outputs:

Example workflows:

1. Discovery timeline: Filter to discovery period → Export
2. Plaintiff activity: Filter to plaintiff players → Export
3. Financial summary: Filter to financial category → Export
4. Trial exhibits: Filter to specific events with exhibits → Export

Exported files only include visible (filtered) events.

Best Practices

Workflow Tips

• Start broad, narrow down: Begin with full timeline, then filter
• Clear filters between tasks: Don't accidentally work with hidden events
• Check filter status: Always verify the "Showing X of Y" count
• Use filters for QA: Filter by category to review consistency within that category

Performance

• Filters work instantly even with hundreds of events
• Combined filters are efficient—use as many as needed
• Search highlights results in real-time as you type

Organization

• Use consistent naming for players to improve player filtering
• Well-structured categories make category filtering more useful
• Date precision helps with date range filtering

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Cmd/Ctrl + K: Open timeline search
• Tab: Navigate to next search result
• Shift + Tab: Navigate to previous search result
• Enter: Close search and stay on focused event
• Escape: Close search
• Cmd/Ctrl + F: Alternative to open search

See Keyboard Shortcuts for complete list.

Troubleshooting

"No events visible"

• Check filter bar—you may have incompatible filters active
• Clear all filters and start fresh
• Verify events actually exist in your timeline

Search not finding expected results

• Check spelling
• Try partial terms instead of full phrases
• Remember search is case-insensitive but spelling-sensitive
• Some fields (like internal IDs) aren't searchable

Filters not working as expected

• Combined filters use AND logic (all must match)
• Date ranges are inclusive (includes both start and end dates)
• Player filter shows events where player is linked, not just mentioned in description

Next Steps

• Timeline Views - View filtered events in different modes
• Exporting Timelines - Export filtered subsets
• Working with Events - Edit events found through search
• Players - Manage players for better filtering