Searching, Marking, and Filtering

Finding the right records in a large Business Central dataset can be time-consuming when the only tools available are standard text filters or manual scrolling. Master Data Information extends list pages across the system with a set of targeted search, marking, and filtering capabilities that let you isolate exactly the records you need — based on their specifications — and carry those selections forward into your daily work.

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Feature Overview

The Searching, Marking, and Filtering feature adds three closely connected capabilities to master data list pages such as the Item List, Customer List, Vendor List, and others. First, the Search by Master Data action opens the Specification Search directly from the list, letting you define specification criteria and run a match against all records in the list. Second, the Mark Master Data actions — Add Mark, Remove Mark, Clear All Marks, Add Mark to Items in Hierarchy, and Remove Mark from Items in Hierarchy — let you tag selected records with a persistent, user-specific marker that stays attached to the record even when you navigate away. Third, the Marked by user field that the marks write to can be used as a filter condition anywhere in Business Central that supports standard list filtering, so you can quickly return to your marked set at any time.

Together, these three capabilities form a workflow: you search to find the right records, mark the results to hold your selection, and then filter on the mark to work with only those records — whether you are updating specifications, running a report, or placing orders.

Typical Use Cases

As a purchaser managing a raw material review, I want to use Search by Master Data to find all items with a specific alloy grade and tensile strength, then Add Mark to the results so that I can filter the Item List to just those items and update their lead times without losing track of which records I was reviewing.
As a sales representative preparing a quote, I want to mark all items that belong to a customer's approved product range so that when I open an order I can quickly filter the item lookup to only show the records relevant to that customer, speeding up order entry and reducing the risk of selecting the wrong product.
As a production planner analysing a complex product, I want to use Add Mark to Items in Hierarchy on a finished goods item so that all components in its production BOM are automatically marked, giving me a filtered view of every raw material and sub-assembly involved in that product without having to identify them manually.
As a product manager cleaning up the item catalogue, I want to search for all items that share an outdated specification value, mark them, and then filter the list to only those marked items so that I can review and update their data in one focused session rather than working through thousands of records.
As a warehouse supervisor preparing a cycle count, I want to mark a specific group of items based on their storage specification — for example, items with a hazardous material classification — so that I can filter the inventory list to only those items and generate a targeted count sheet.

Key Concepts

Search by Master Data — the action that opens the Specification Search page directly from a master data list. You define your search criteria there, run a match, and the results are automatically marked and the list is filtered to show only the matching records.
Add Mark — tags the currently selected record or records with your personal user mark. The mark is stored in the Marked by user field on the record, which means it persists between sessions until you explicitly remove it.
Remove Mark — removes your personal mark from the selected record or records without affecting marks added by other users.
Clear All Marks — removes your personal mark from every record in the current list in one step, resetting the selection entirely.
Add Mark to Items in Hierarchy — marks not just the selected item but all components in its Bill of Materials (BOM) structure. This is particularly useful for production scenarios where you need visibility over an entire product tree. Only available on the Item List.
Remove Mark from Items in Hierarchy — removes the marks that were applied using Add Mark to Items in Hierarchy.
Marked by user — the field that stores marks. Because it is a standard Business Central field on the record, it can be used as a filter in any list or report that includes it, making it a flexible selection mechanism beyond the list where the mark was applied.
User-specific marks — marks are personal to each user. Marks you add or remove do not affect the view of other users, and you can maintain your own selection independently.

Relations to Other Features or Apps

Specification Search — the Search by Master Data action is a direct entry point into the Specification Search feature. The criteria you define there drive which records are marked when you return to the list. For more detail on how Specification Search works, see the Specification Search documentation.
Information Matrix — marks applied through this feature can be used alongside the Information Matrix to filter which records are visible in the matrix view, allowing you to focus matrix editing on only the records you have selected.
Master Data on Documents — because marks are stored as a field value on the record itself, they can also be used as a filter condition when working with document line lookups, helping users narrow the item or customer selection during document entry.
Standard Business Central list filtering — since the Marked by user field is a real field on the master data tables, you can use it in all of Business Central's standard filter mechanisms — the filter pane, FlowFilters, and report request pages — exactly like any other field.

When This Feature Adds Value

You regularly need to work with a specific subset of items, customers, or vendors that cannot be easily identified by a single standard field filter, but can be found through their specification values.
Your team handles large catalogues where manual scrolling or multiple-filter stacking is slow and error-prone, and a persistent, reusable selection mechanism would save significant time.
You work with products that have complex BOM structures and need to quickly isolate all components of a given assembly for review, costing, or data maintenance purposes.
You want to maintain a personal working set of records — for example, a shortlist for a specific project or customer account — that survives page navigation and can be re-applied at any point during your session.