Understanding Found Sets, Inverse Queries, and Hidden Records

When you run a query in BaseBuilders, the records that match are called your found set. Beyond just viewing that found set, BaseBuilders gives you several ways to manipulate and toggle around it — this article covers those options.

This companion article has an explainer video that covers this topic: How Found Sets, Hidden Records, and Reports Work Together

The Found Set

At the top of a list view, you'll see a summary like "Custom Query — Found 13 of 20," showing how many records matched your query out of the total available. Selecting the dropdown arrow next to this summary reveals the options below.

Query Options

• Edit Query — modify the criteria of the query that produced your current found set.
• Save as New — save your current query criteria as a new, reusable saved query.
• Start New Query — clear the current query and begin building a new one from scratch.

Showing Records Not in the Found Set

Selecting Show Records Not in Found flips your view to an inverse query — instead of showing the records that matched, it shows the records that were excluded from your found set. In the example shown, 4 records didn't match the original query and can be viewed this way.

This is a toggle: selecting it again returns you to your original found set. It's useful for spot-checking what got left out of a query, without having to rebuild the criteria in reverse.

Hiding and Unhiding Records

While working within a found set, you can hide individual records to shorten the list you're working with. Hiding a record doesn't remove it from the database or from the underlying query results — it simply flags it as hidden and drops it out of view.

• Show Hidden Records displays the records you've hidden (3, in the example shown), letting you toggle back and forth between your hidden and visible records.
• Unhide All clears every hide flag at once, restoring all previously hidden records to view.

Both of these operate within the context of your original found set — hiding and unhiding don't change what the query itself returned, just what's currently displayed.

All Records

Selecting All Records clears your found set entirely and returns you to viewing every record in the module, regardless of any query or hide/unhide state.

Best Practice

Use Hide Records when you want to temporarily set aside a handful of records within a found set — for example, ones you've already reviewed — without losing your place in the broader query. Use Show Records Not in Found when you want to sanity-check a query's criteria by seeing exactly what it's excluding, rather than rebuilding the query with inverted logic.

Summary

A found set is the group of records returned by a query. From the found set dropdown, you can edit or save the query, start a new one, toggle to see records excluded from the found set (Show Records Not in Found), and hide or unhide individual records within the found set (Show Hidden Records, Unhide All) without altering the underlying query. All Records clears everything and returns to the full, unfiltered list.