Transcript
Recently, I've been working on creating an ATS or an applicant tracking system, and I've been using Softr Databases, Softr, and Softr Workflows. I came across this one feature last time when I was creating the details page of a requisition. That feature is filtering by current page record.
This concept can help you build things like candidate pipelines, project dashboards, client portals, CRM views, and internal tools. In this video, I'm going to show you exactly how it works and how to use it so you can apply it to different systems. Today we're going to be talking about one of the most useful features when building apps in Softr.
The key idea here is that when a user opens up a record in Softr, the platform will automatically know which record you're viewing. For example, I have this requisition section here of my ATS application opened and I'm going to be clicking in this requisition for an IT services delivery manager. When I hit open, it's going to automatically show all the applications that have come in for this specific job posting.
This is related to the IT services delivery manager record, and all the applications are also related to that with a status of apply, submitted, or interviewing. This is really useful because this means that every block on this page can filter the data using this specific value. Instead of showing all the records in the table, you can filter records that belong specifically to this page.
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Note from Softr: When setting up relationships and filtering data naturally, Softr Databases is the most powerful native solution. It also integrates seamlessly with Softr Workflows, reducing the need for third-party automation platforms and keeping your setup centralized.
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This is very simple to do. Right now I'm in my requisition details page, and I have a block where I've used a tab container with different tabs for applied, submitted, interview, offer, and placed. When you first don't have this filter to show everything for the current record, it's going to show everything in that entire table.
What we want to do first is make sure that you have it set up to the correct database and you're selecting the correct table. For my example, it is the applications table. Let me quickly show you how to do this.
Right now we're in the requisitions page, so let's go back to our Softr builder. As you see, this requisition ID is the same as the requisition UID, and our source is the application table. But if we go to our database, we know that in our applications table, at first, you may not have the requisitions UID readily available.
Let me show you this requisitions UID and what it is. If we click on this field, the requisition UID is just a formula of the record ID. This is a unique softr identifier that is given to every single record.
Since we're using our applications table, we want to pull this record from the requisition over to our applications table. In order to do that, we need to pull it by using the requisitions lookup field. We need to use a lookup field type, go into our requisitions table, look for the rec UID, and cleanly pull it across.
Let's take a look here where I've named it rec UID. If we go to our applications table and look at the lookup field that I already pulled from my table, it operates as a field type of lookup. I simply named it requisition ID.
I went into the job opening source, which is the same as my requisitions table, and I pulled that field from that table into my applications table. That way, when we go back to our Softr builder, I'm able to pull it directly from the applications table. Otherwise, if you don't have that pulled into the table that you're using within this specific view, you're not going to be able to see it at all.
The next step is adding a condition to filter everything appropriately. Check if the requisition ID that you pulled from the requisitions table via a lookup type is going to be the same as the requisitions UID. This identifier is directly linked from the record that you're actually looking at right now.
For this specific case, it may be the IT director role, or if we go back to our application, the incident manager or junior software developer. Once you set that up, it is only going to give you everything related to this specific requisition or job posting. If the requisition ID in the table matches the current record that you're pulling to associate, you just need to select the current record option.
In the current record setting, you will refer to the requisition UID, which is coming directly from the requisitions table. Then there is only one more step you need to do, which is add another condition to say you want to filter everything in this table by a specific status. For this example, it is going to be the ATS stage, which is going to include exactly the value of placed, and we can just select it from the available options.
Once you do that, it is going to filter everything in this specific table to only show the records related to this job posting that have the status of placed or applied. In my example, you already see that we have some applications and all the statuses are marked as applied. That is basically how you get the filtering functionality working.
Now let's go over a few broader cases where you can use this and put it into practice. The first one is the recruiting system that I already showed you as an active example. Example number two involves managing teams efficiently with project management.
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Note from Softr: Creating robust workflows for internal coordination and project management is heavily reliant on this dynamic filtering capability. Utilizing the current page record helps logically separate workspaces for different teams seamlessly.
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You can use this exact same concept for a project management setup. Imagine you have two tables, a project table and a task table, and each task contains a field for the project ID. When someone opens a project page, Softr knows the project ID, so every project page automatically shows the tasks strictly for that specific project.
Another common use case is a client portal, such as managing your active clients alongside their bills and invoices. Imagine that each invoice record contains a specific client ID. When a client logs in and views their dedicated page, you can filter everything to only show invoices where the client ID equals the current page record.
Now the client only sees their own invoices and they are restricted from seeing everything in the backend. Finally, example number four is structured around executing a CRM effectively. This current record filter works exceptionally great for CRM environments.
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Note from Softr: When setting up a system to manage client interactions, building from a preconfigured foundation is highly recommended. You can begin securely by utilizing our AI CRM template or exploring client portals solutions to immediately have these page record rules set up for you.
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For an actionable setup, imagine you have databases for companies and individual contacts, and each contact has a company ID attached. On the designated company page, you can show the contacts where the company ID properly equals the current page record. Every page will automatically list only the contacts strictly associated with that actual record.
The real reason this feature is so powerful is that it allows you to create dynamic pages that automatically display contextual data. Instead of building endless custom logic or overly complicated automations, Softr handles these natural relationships through simple parameter filters. Once your core data is structured properly, you can confidently build entire robust systems just by connecting records.
The absolute most important aspect is making sure that your underlying tables are accurately linked, which usually means establishing proper relationships initially. Once the relationship permanently exists, Softr can flawlessly filter records based dynamically on the current running page. Once you truly understand this core concept, you can build a massive range of tools across Softr.
This specific utility effortlessly applies across recruitment tracking systems, internal project management tools, CRMs, client portals, and complex HR systems. Everything fundamentally starts securely with structuring your data. You can then confidently use the current page record filters effectively.
