Filtering a table is one of the most common user interactions with a DataTables table, and
DataTables provides a number of methods for you to control this interaction. There are APIs for the
global filter (search()) and for each individual column (column().search()).
Note also that you must call the draw() method after performing the search, in order for the results to be
displayed.
Each filter (global or column) can be marked as a regular expression (allowing you to create very complex interactions) and as a smart filter or not. When smart filtering is enabled on a particular filter, DataTables will modify the user input string to a complex regular expression which can make filtering more intuitive.
This example allows you to "play" with the various filtering options that DataTables provides.
| Target | Filter text | Treat as regex | Use smart filter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global filtering | |||
| Column - Name | |||
| Column - Position | |||
| Column - Office | |||
| Column - Age | |||
| Column - Start date | |||
| Column - Salary |
| Name | Position | Office | Age | Start date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | Office | Age | Start date | Salary |
| Tiger Nixon | System Architect | Edinburgh | 61 | 2011/04/25 | $3,120 |
| Garrett Winters | Director | Edinburgh | 63 | 2011/07/25 | $5,300 |
| Ashton Cox | Technical Author | San Francisco | 66 | 2009/01/12 | $4,800 |
| Cedric Kelly | Javascript Developer | Edinburgh | 22 | 2012/03/29 | $3,600 |
| Jenna Elliott | Financial Controller | Edinburgh | 33 | 2008/11/28 | $5,300 |
| Brielle Williamson | Integration Specialist | New York | 61 | 2012/12/02 | $4,525 |
| Herrod Chandler | Sales Assistant | San Francisco | 59 | 2012/08/06 | $4,080 |
| Rhona Davidson | Integration Specialist | Edinburgh | 55 | 2010/10/14 | $6,730 |
| Colleen Hurst | Javascript Developer | San Francisco | 39 | 2009/09/15 | $5,000 |
| Sonya Frost | Software Engineer | Edinburgh | 23 | 2008/12/13 | $3,600 |
| Jena Gaines | System Architect | London | 30 | 2008/12/19 | $5,000 |
| Quinn Flynn | Financial Controller | Edinburgh | 22 | 2013/03/03 | $4,200 |
| Charde Marshall | Regional Director | San Francisco | 36 | 2008/10/16 | $5,300 |
| Haley Kennedy | Senior Marketing Designer | London | 43 | 2012/12/18 | $4,800 |
| Tatyana Fitzpatrick | Regional Director | London | 19 | 2010/03/17 | $2,875 |
| Michael Silva | Senior Marketing Designer | London | 66 | 2012/11/27 | $3,750 |
| Paul Byrd | Javascript Developer | New York | 64 | 2010/06/09 | $5,000 |
| Gloria Little | Systems Administrator | New York | 59 | 2009/04/10 | $3,120 |
| Bradley Greer | Software Engineer | London | 41 | 2012/10/13 | $3,120 |
| Dai Rios | System Architect | Edinburgh | 35 | 2012/09/26 | $4,200 |
| Jenette Caldwell | Financial Controller | New York | 30 | 2011/09/03 | $4,965 |
| Yuri Berry | System Architect | New York | 40 | 2009/06/25 | $3,600 |
| Caesar Vance | Technical Author | New York | 21 | 2011/12/12 | $4,965 |
| Doris Wilder | Sales Assistant | Edinburgh | 23 | 2010/09/20 | $4,965 |
| Angelica Ramos | System Architect | London | 36 | 2009/10/09 | $2,875 |
| Gavin Joyce | Developer | Edinburgh | 42 | 2010/12/22 | $4,525 |
| Jennifer Chang | Regional Director | London | 28 | 2010/11/14 | $4,080 |
| Brenden Wagner | Software Engineer | San Francisco | 18 | 2011/06/07 | $3,750 |
| Ebony Grimes | Software Engineer | San Francisco | 48 | 2010/03/11 | $2,875 |
| Russell Chavez | Director | Edinburgh | 20 | 2011/08/14 | $3,600 |
| Michelle House | Integration Specialist | Edinburgh | 37 | 2011/06/02 | $3,750 |
| Suki Burks | Developer | London | 53 | 2009/10/22 | $2,875 |
| Prescott Bartlett | Technical Author | London | 27 | 2011/05/07 | $6,730 |
| Gavin Cortez | Technical Author | San Francisco | 22 | 2008/10/26 | $6,730 |
| Martena Mccray | Integration Specialist | Edinburgh | 46 | 2011/03/09 | $4,080 |
| Unity Butler | Senior Marketing Designer | San Francisco | 47 | 2009/12/09 | $3,750 |
| Howard Hatfield | Financial Controller | San Francisco | 51 | 2008/12/16 | $4,080 |
| Hope Fuentes | Financial Controller | San Francisco | 41 | 2010/02/12 | $4,200 |
| Vivian Harrell | System Architect | San Francisco | 62 | 2009/02/14 | $4,965 |
| Timothy Mooney | Financial Controller | London | 37 | 2008/12/11 | $4,200 |
| Jackson Bradshaw | Director | New York | 65 | 2008/09/26 | $5,000 |
| Miriam Weiss | Support Engineer | Edinburgh | 64 | 2011/02/03 | $4,965 |
| Bruno Nash | Software Engineer | London | 38 | 2011/05/03 | $4,200 |
| Odessa Jackson | Support Engineer | Edinburgh | 37 | 2009/08/19 | $3,600 |
| Thor Walton | Developer | New York | 61 | 2013/08/11 | $3,600 |
| Finn Camacho | Support Engineer | San Francisco | 47 | 2009/07/07 | $4,800 |
| Elton Baldwin | Data Coordinator | Edinburgh | 64 | 2012/04/09 | $6,730 |
| Zenaida Frank | Software Engineer | New York | 63 | 2010/01/04 | $4,800 |
| Zorita Serrano | Software Engineer | San Francisco | 56 | 2012/06/01 | $5,300 |
| Jennifer Acosta | Javascript Developer | Edinburgh | 43 | 2013/02/01 | $2,875 |
| Cara Stevens | Sales Assistant | New York | 46 | 2011/12/06 | $4,800 |
| Hermione Butler | Director | London | 47 | 2011/03/21 | $4,080 |
| Lael Greer | Systems Administrator | London | 21 | 2009/02/27 | $3,120 |
| Jonas Alexander | Developer | San Francisco | 30 | 2010/07/14 | $5,300 |
| Shad Decker | Regional Director | Edinburgh | 51 | 2008/11/13 | $5,300 |
| Michael Bruce | Javascript Developer | Edinburgh | 29 | 2011/06/27 | $4,080 |
| Donna Snider | System Architect | New York | 27 | 2011/01/25 | $3,120 |
The Javascript shown below is used to initialise the table shown in this example:
function filterGlobal () {
$('#example').DataTable().search(
$('#global_filter').val(),
$('#global_regex').prop('checked'),
$('#global_smart').prop('checked')
).draw();
}
function filterColumn ( i ) {
$('#example').DataTable().column( i ).search(
$('#col'+i+'_filter').val(),
$('#col'+i+'_regex').prop('checked'),
$('#col'+i+'_smart').prop('checked')
).draw();
}
$(document).ready(function() {
$('#example').dataTable();
$('input.global_filter').on( 'keyup click', function () {
filterGlobal();
} );
$('input.column_filter').on( 'keyup click', function () {
filterColumn( $(this).parents('tr').attr('data-column') );
} );
} );
In addition to the above code, the following Javascript library files are loaded for use in this example:
The HTML shown below is the raw HTML table element, before it has been enhanced by DataTables:
This example uses a little bit of additional CSS beyond what is loaded from the library files (below), in order to correctly display the table. The additional CSS used is shown below:
The following CSS library files are loaded for use in this example to provide the styling of the table:
This table loads data by Ajax. The latest data that has been loaded is shown below. This data will update automatically as any additional data is loaded.