Updated March 22, 2021 · Originally published January 31, 2013

With all the great functionality packed into Dynamics CRM, I realized the other day that I have one favorite. This gem of functionality can be unleashed with one little button. It's not a button that controls some great fancy customization we created (although we have a few of those). It is a simple little button tucked away in the ribbon bar of almost every Dynamics CRM user screen.

I love the Filter button.

Can you see it buried up in the Ribbon bar? There, on the right next to the Import Data button.

That lovely little button allows me to sort through my data quickly and easily just as I would in Excel. I know, we can build great queries and save them as Views so I can instantly access them, but I am always looking for different ways of viewing my data.

I can create a single view and then use it for many things - just by using my favorite button.

Once I click that button, I can now apply field level sorting and return just the data I want to see.

Beautiful. My data just opens up, showing me nuggets I didn't even know existed. The power at my fingertips is heady. The Force is strong in this one. I love the Filter button.

And you should too.

If you and your team are doing a great job with all the effort that goes into collecting, maintaining, and governing that data, the Filter button can be your best friend. Simple to understand, easy to use, included in every Dynamics CRM deployment.

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