Filter Activity

1. What Is a Filter Activity
1. 1.1. Activity Definition
2. Why Use a Filter Activity
3. How to Create a Filter Activity

What Is a Filter Activity

A filter activity is an activity that applies the logic of a data filter to a subscriber list you select to create a group of subscribers who satisfy the filter criteria.

When you create a filter activity, you provide a name, external key, and description to identify and describe the activity within the application interface and for API calls.

Activity Definition

When you define a filter activity, you select the data filter to use. The data filter must already exist before you can select it on a filter activity. See the Data Filter topic.

If you select a filter that is based on profile attributes, you also select the list to segment with the filter and provide a name for the group to contain the resulting segment. The list must already exist before you can select it on a filter activity.

If you are filtering a data extension, you select the data filter and provide a name for the data extension to contain the resulting segment. You do not need to select the data extension to segment because you already selected it when you created the data filter.

Why Use a Filter Activity

You can use a filter activity to sort out subscribers from a larger subscriber list. This allows you to better target specific subscribers based on their attributes or other conditions.

How to Create a Filter Activity

Before you perform this procedure, you must create a data filter definition and the list or data extension to be segmented. After you complete this procedure, you can start the filter activity.

Use the following steps to create a filter activity:

Click the Interactions tab in the navigation bar.
Click Activities.
Click Filter. The Filter screen appears.
Click the Create button on the toolbar.
Complete the information in the Properties section:
- Name - Name of the filter activity. Use this name to identify the activity in the application. This value is not visible to your subscribers.
- External Key - Unique identifier of the filter activity. Use this to identify the activity with the API. This value is not visible to your subscribers.
- Description - Description of the filter activity. Use this description to identify the activity in the application. This value is not visible to your subscribers.
Complete the information in the Activity Definition section:
- Filter Definition - Select the filter definition to apply.

If you select a subscriber attribute-based filter, complete the following fields.

Source List - Subscriber list to segment with the filter definition.
Result Group Folder - Folder to contain the group that filter activity creates to contain the subscriber segment.
Result Group name - Name of the group that the filter activity creates to contain the subscriber segment. This name is not visible to your subscribers.

If you select a data extension-based filter, complete the following fields:
- Result Data Extension Name - Name of the data extension that the filter activity creates to contain the data extension segment. This name is not visible to your subscribers.
- Result Data Extension External Key - Unique identifier of the data extension. Use this to identify the data extension with the API. This value is not visible to your subscribers.
- Result Data Extension Description - The description of the data extension. Use this description to identify the data extension in the application. This value is not visible to your subscribers.
Click Save.