Although there are a myriad of vast improvements with the user interface in AX2012 from its predecessors, the new streamlined forms have fewer filtering icons and menu commands available in comparison to AX2009. Microsoft has attempted to simplify the screens by moving some of the classic toolbar features to the bottom left portion of the forms.
However, missing from this are the filtering icons most will recall from AX2009. Many super-users and AX implementers will recall how often such filtering was needed—particularly the advanced filter. While the grid filter is still accessible in the user options and the field filter is still available via right-click, the advanced filter is notso easily accessible.
To access the advanced filter in Dynamics AX2012, the user will need to press Ctrl + F3 on the keyboard. This key command will open the traditional "advanced filter" query criteria form, familiar from the past several versions of AX. As a reminder, this filtering technique is frequently utilized to handle the application of filter criteria relating to tables and fields not directly displayed in the current form, but relevant for restricting the user's view of the data.
Don't let the use of one of the most powerful tools Dynamics AX offers go to waste simply because it is harder to find. Remember Ctrl + F3 is your ally the next time you need to utilize advanced filtering in Dynamics AX2012!
