Today I will be explaining the general concept of a filter and how you can filter a Notion database.
A filter allows you to reduce the amount of data visible to you. The data which is displayed has matched specific criteria set by the user. In the next section, I will be using my current task list as an example of setting up a filter and showing how useful filters can be.
Setting up a filter in Notion
I have removed the filter from my personal task list. I will set the filter up again and will walk you through the process in this section.
![Notion data table before filter applied](https://www.ctnet.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/NotionTaskListBeforeFilter-1024x629.png)
As you can see, one of the attributes I can set on my tasks database is status. The tasks database currently has 301 records visible, including tasks marked as completed.
I don’t need to worry about the tasks I have completed and would like to remove all completed tasks from my view of the table.
So I clicked on the filter option, and from the attributes displayed, I then clicked on status. I changed the rule from status to status is not before selecting the value completed.
![Setting a Notion filter on my task list status attribute](https://www.ctnet.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/NotionSettingStatusRule.png)
The filter rule of status not completed will filter out from the table view any tasks marked as completed.
![My Notion tasklist after a filter was applied](https://www.ctnet.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/TaskTableViewAfterFilterApplied-1024x683.png)
Conclusion
It is possible to combine filters relating to different attributes within a Notion database following the same process I used in the previous section.
You might also be interested in reading our guide to Notion database views.