Query

Filter and search entities in Seal.

The query functionality in Seal provides powerful filtering and querying capabilities to help you find exactly what you need.

Filtering

Query filter suggestions will show as a dropdown as soon as you click into the search bar. Filter suggestions will narrow down as you type. After a filter is selected, values that can be selected are suggested.

If a filter is not provided, entities will be searched by title.

The filter options are explained in more detail below.

Filters

Filter	Options	Description
System		The system an entity belongs to.
Tag		Any entities which have the tag.
Field		Any entities which contain the field.
Type
Kind	type, template, record	Returns entities of the given type.
Mode	draft, active	draft returns the latest state of every entity, including drafts and unpublished changes. active returns the published snapshot of each entity — title, fields, and status come from the published version. Status tag is the exception: it is always the live value in both modes, so views never lie about an entity’s current lifecycle. Live fields similarly always reflect the current state. Entities that have never been published are excluded by default. See Active versions for details.
Archived	true, false
Status	editable , in review, finished	Filters entities by status. In active mode this is the published status; in draft mode it’s the current draft status.
Status tag		Filters entities by status tag. Always matches the live status tag (current draft value), in both active and draft modes — the value shown in views. Use Active status below to filter by the pinned published value instead.
Active status		Filters by the status tag that was set when the active version was published. Use this when you want to query the published value independently of the current draft state — for example, “every entity that shipped as Approved, regardless of whether it has since been reopened”.
Template		Returns instances created from a given template.
Template version		When used with a template filter, only instances from the specific version of the template will be returned.
Has trigger	true, false	Shows entities with automation code that have at least one trigger set up.
Created by		Returns entities that were created by the given user.
Last updated by		Returns entities where the last change was made by the given user.
Assignees		Returns entities that are assigned to the user.
Submitted from		Shows instances that were submitted from the given entity.
Created between		Returns entities that were created between the input dates. Formats: YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm to YYYY-MM-dd HH:mm after YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm before YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm
Last updated between		Returns entities that were last updated between the input dates. Formats: YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm to YYYY-MM-dd HH:mm after YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm before YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm
References		Returns entities that reference the given entity. Use this to find all entities whose reference fields point to a specific entity (backlink query).
Change set		Filters for entities belonging to the given change set by index. The change set index can be found in the URL on a change set page.

A query string is made up of multiple filter groups separated by spaces. Inside a filter group, separated by commas, filters are ORed together whilst different filter groups are ANDed together.

For example, the query below will return:

• Any entities that were created by Bridget OR are type Document OR Record
• AND were created after 1st September 2025

Field value filters

The field filter can also match entities by the value of a specific field using the syntax field:<name><operator><value>. This is useful for filtering by text, number, select, or entity reference field values.

Syntax: field:<field name><operator><value>

Operators

Operator	Description	Supported field types
=	Equal to	All field types
>	Greater than	Number fields only
<	Less than	Number fields only
>=	Greater than or equal to	Number fields only
<=	Less than or equal to	Number fields only

Quoting rules:

• Field names containing spaces must be wrapped in double quotes: field:"Part Number"=value
• Values containing spaces must also be wrapped in double quotes: field:Status="In Progress"
• Single-word field names and values do not need quotes: field:Number=2000

Examples:

field:Number=2000
field:Number>1000
field:Age<=30
field:"Field Name"="value with spaces"
type:Sample field:Number=2000 status:FINISHED

Entity reference values

To filter by an entity reference field (a field whose value points to another entity), use the ref() wrapper around the entity’s ID.

Syntax: field:<field name>=ref(<entity id>)

The entity ID inside ref() must not be wrapped in quotes. Use ref(abc-123), not ref("abc-123").

Examples:

field:"Part Number"=ref(c91c1a8a-1234-5678-9abc-def012345678)
field:Reference=ref(a0b1c2d3-e4f5-6789-abcd-ef0123456789)

You can find an entity’s ID in the URL when viewing it, or by copying it from the entity’s detail page.

Negated filters

Currently, the type, statusTag, and activeStatus filters can be negated by adding a - before the filter name. This will return any entities that do not match the filter. They can be combined with other filters in the same way.

Sorting

Results can be sorted by using the sort: keyword in your query or by clicking on the vertical arrows icon in a row header. Columns can be sorted ascending or descending and multiple sorts can be applied in sequence.

Saved views

Queries can be saved as views accessible via ‘View Groups’ in the left navigation bar. Type in your query and select Save as view.

If a filter has been edited in a view, a blue dot will appear in the top right until the view is saved.

Manage your view groups directly in the Views tab: click the + button next to the search bar to add a new group, hover a group to reveal a three-dot menu for rename / new view / delete, and drag groups to reorder. (Group settings also remain available under Settings → Systems → View groups.)

Creating entities from saved views

When a saved view includes a kind: or template: filter, a creation button appears in the footer and empty state of the results table. The button adapts to the view’s filters:

View filters	Button behaviour
kind:template + type:Name	New — creates a new template of that type directly
template:Name (single template)	New — creates an instance from that template directly
template:Name,Name (multiple templates)	New instance dropdown — opens a picker to choose which template to create from
kind:instance + type:Name	New dropdown — opens a picker to choose which template to create from

A template: filter on its own is sufficient — instance creation is implicit. A type: filter alone does not show a creation button; it must be combined with a kind: filter. Builder permissions are required to create templates; operator permissions or system membership are required to create instances.

Charts from Saved Views

It is possible to create a chart based on query results, and export your view as a CSV.