--- title: "Custom Filter Groups & Labels" description: "Custom **Filter Groups** let you build your own search filters around a chosen animal field, decide which of that field's values become filter options, and set the exact label visitors see for each one. This is separate from the built-in…" url: "https://petmatchpro.com/docs/custom-filter-groups/" updated: "2026-10-26" category: "Filters & Search" --- # Custom Filter Groups & Labels Custom **Filter Groups** let you build your own search filters around a chosen animal field, decide which of that field's values become filter options, and set the exact label visitors see for each one. This is separate from the built-in Search Criteria checkboxes on the Partner tab (covered in [Setting Up Search Filters](/docs/setting-up-search-filters/)) - Filter Groups are the advanced, field-driven builder, and they are where you relabel filter values (for example, showing the location value `Kennel - Greenhill` as "Main Kennel"). Filter Groups are configured in **PetMatchPro Options > General > Exclusions & Filters**, per method type (Adopt, Found, Lost, List, Preferred - depending on what your partner supports). Each method type can hold one or more groups, and each group is a self-contained set of fields, filter values, labels, and exclusions. ## What a Filter Group Contains Each group is built around a single source field and then defines how its values appear: - **Primary Field** - the animal field this group filters on (for example, `Location`). - **Fallback Field** - an optional second field used when the primary field has no value for an animal. - **Number of Exclusions** and **Exclusion** rows - values of the field to hide from results. - **Number of Filters** and the **Filter** / **Filter Label** rows - the specific values to expose as filter options and the label shown for each. ![PetMatchPro Options General tab, Exclusions & Filters section with the Adoptable method expanded and Filter Group 1 open. Primary Field is set to Location and Fallback Field to None. Number of Exclusions is 1 with an empty Exclusion 1 input. Number of Filters is 5, and the first two filters map location values to friendly labels — Filter 1 'Kennel - Greenhill' shown as 'Main Kennel', and Filter 2 'Foster - Greenhill' shown as 'Foster Home'. A 'Copy exclusions & filters from' dropdown sits above the group and a Remove button at top right.](https://petmatchpro.com/wp-content/uploads/exclusions-filters-adoptable-filter-group-1.png) Use **Add Filter Group** to create additional groups for a method type, the **Copy exclusions & filters from...** dropdown to clone a group you have already built on another method type, and **Remove** to delete a group. Click **Save Changes** within the method accordion to store your work. ## Primary & Fallback Field The **Primary Field** is the animal field the group filters on. Choose it from the dropdown of fields eligible for this method type and partner (for example, `Location`, `Breed`, or `Age Group`). Everything else in the group - the exclusions and the filter values below - operates on this field. The **Fallback Field** is optional. When an animal has no value for the Primary Field, PetMatchPro falls back to this second field so the animal can still be filtered. Leave it set to `-- None --` if you do not need a fallback. ## Number of Filters The **Number of Filters** selector sets how many filter-value rows the group shows, from 1 to 10. Changing it adds or removes paired **Filter** / **Filter Label** rows below it. Set this first, then fill in the rows. ## Filter Values & Labels Each filter row is a pair of inputs that curates one value of the Primary Field: - **Filter N** - a value of the Primary Field to expose as a filter option (for example, the location value `Kennel - Greenhill`). This is the underlying value PetMatchPro matches against. - **Filter N Label** - the friendly text shown to visitors for that value (for example, `Main Kennel`). This is the main way to relabel a filter value. Leave it blank to display the raw value as-is. In the screenshot above, with Primary Field set to `Location`, Filter 1 surfaces the value `Kennel - Greenhill` under the label **Main Kennel**, and Filter 2 surfaces `Foster - Greenhill` under **Foster Home**. Visitors see the friendly labels; PetMatchPro filters on the underlying location values. **Filter Groups vs. Filter Value Management:** a Filter Group lets you curate and relabel a specific, hand-picked set of values for one field. [Filter Value Management](/docs/filter-value-management/) instead works across the full, auto-populated value list for a filter - use it when you want to rename or hide values without defining each one by hand. ## Excluding Values The **Number of Exclusions** selector and the **Exclusion** rows below it let a group hide specific values of the Primary Field from search results site-wide for that method type. Because exclusion is its own topic, it has a dedicated guide: see [Excluding Values via Filtering](/docs/excluding-values-via-filtering/). ## License Availability Filter Groups follow the same per-method licensing as the rest of the Exclusions & Filters section: | Method | License Required | | --- | --- | | **Adopt** | Basic | | **Found** | Junior | | **Lost** | Junior | | **List** (PetPoint only) | Junior | | **Preferred** (AnimalsFirst only) | Preferred | License tiers are enforced automatically - a method type whose filter capability is not licensed simply does not show its Filter Group controls. ## Next Steps - [Setting Up Search Filters](/docs/setting-up-search-filters/) — The built-in Partner-tab Search Criteria checkboxes - [Filter Value Management](/docs/filter-value-management/) — Rename or hide values across a filter's full value list - [Excluding Values via Filtering](/docs/excluding-values-via-filtering/) — Hide field values from results - [Partner-Specific Filter Options](/docs/partner-specific-filter-options/) — Which fields are available per partner Custom Filter Groups & Labels ultima modifica: 2026-06-25T10:33:02-04:00 da PetMatchPro