# Strings

Filter string columns in your data using a variety of operators to find exactly what you need. Each string filter provides different ways to match and filter text data.

## Available String Operators

Explorer provides several operators for filtering string data:

* **has** - Shows values containing a specific substring
* **regex** - Filters using regular expression patterns
* **not** - Excludes values containing a specific substring
* **empty** - Shows only empty values
* **not empty** - Shows only non-empty values

## Basic Text Filtering

To filter using basic text matching:

1. Click the search input in your chosen filter
2. Select the "has" operator
3. Type your search term or select from the autocomplete options
4. Click "Apply" to activate the filter

## Advanced Pattern Matching

The regex operator allows powerful pattern matching using regular expressions. Here are some common patterns:

**Basic Patterns:**

* <mark style="color:orange;">`ID-.*open`</mark> - Matches "ID-" followed by any text containing "open"
* <mark style="color:orange;">`ID-[0-9]+`</mark> - Matches "ID-" followed by one or more numbers
* <mark style="color:orange;">`open|closed`</mark> - Matches either "open" or "closed"

**Anchored Patterns:**

* <mark style="color:orange;">`^sample`</mark> - Matches text starting with "sample"
* <mark style="color:orange;">`.fa$`</mark> - Matches text ending with ".fa"

{% hint style="info" %}
Regular expressions match any part of the text by default. Use ^ and $ to match the start and end of the text.
{% endhint %}

## Excluding Values

Use the "not" operator to exclude specific values:

1. Select the "not" operator
2. Enter the text you want to exclude
3. Click "Apply"

## Empty Value Filtering

Quickly find or exclude empty values using the "empty" and "not empty" operators. These filters apply immediately when selected.


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