FilterWorkbench (Filterværksted) V2.0

A Gramps gramplet for building, saving, editing, sharing and testing your own person filters — with reusable helper filters as building blocks. It lives in the People view sidebar and keeps its filters separate from Gramps' own filter editor list — until you choose to copy a finished filter across with Export to (and you can take it back out with Remove from).

Danish UI included ("Filterværksted"). Works on Gramps 5.1, 5.2 and 6.0.x, Windows and Linux. A built‑in Guide button opens the full walkthrough (in Danish automatically when Gramps runs in Danish).

Why

Gramps' built‑in custom filters are powerful but fiddly to build, and every experiment ends up in your custom_filters.xml. FilterWorkbench gives beginners and slightly experienced users a friendlier workspace where you can build a filter, watch the live match count, try it on the person list without closing the builder, and only keep what works — all stored in its own per‑tree file. Your custom_filters.xml is never touched unless you explicitly use Export to — a deliberate, non‑destructive opt‑in that you can undo with Remove from.

Features

• Main filters + reusable helper filters. Build a helper once, reference it from many main filters.
• Live match count while you build.
• Test as you go — try the whole filter, a selected helper, or a single selected rule directly in the person view (the builder stays open).
• Apply / Reset the finished filter to the person list from the gramplet.
• Applied filters show up in Gramps' own selectors (GEDCOM export, reports, the sidebar) as wb_<name> — but only while applied, and only in memory. Reset or close and they're gone.
• Import / Export between family trees, with a safe additive merge: duplicates are skipped, real name‑clashes are renamed, and missing rule add‑ons are flagged before you commit.
• Export to / Remove from Gramps' own Filter Editor — copy a finished filter (and the helper filters it needs) into custom_filters.xml so it appears as a native custom filter, and take it out again just as cleanly. Never overwrites; shared helpers are reused, not duplicated.
• Tidy deletion — deleting a main filter also removes the helper filters it uses that nothing else needs, while keeping shared helpers and any separate main filters it referenced (the confirmation shows exactly what goes and what stays).
• ★ Favorite rules — mark the rules you use most and reach them from the top of the rule chooser.
• Nested filter tree + type‑to‑filter list + Guide button in the sidebar.
• Regular‑expression / case‑sensitive matching on rules that support it.
• Per‑tree JSON storage — nothing is written to custom_filters.xml unless you choose Export to.

Install

1. Close Gramps.

2. Extract the downloaded ZIP archive.

3. Copy or extract the project folder into your Gramps user plugin folder. Keep the complete folder structure unchanged, including any locale folder included with the project.

   The user plugin folder is normally located here:

   • Windows: %AppData%\gramps\gramps<version>\plugins\
   • Linux: ~/.gramps/gramps<version>/plugins/
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/gramps/gramps<version>/plugins/

   Replace <version> with the Gramps version folder used on your system.

4. Start Gramps again.

5. Check that the installed filter, rule, gramplet or tool is available where described in the project documentation.

If the project does not appear or fails to load, check Help → Plugin Manager for an error message.

Removing the test version

1. Close Gramps.
2. Delete the project folder that you added to the Gramps user plugin folder.
3. Start Gramps again.

Because the project was installed only in the user plugin folder, removing that folder removes the test installation without changing the original Gramps program files.

Your saved filters live separately, in …/gramps<XY>/filterbuilder/ — not in the plugin folder — so replacing or removing the plugin folder never touches them.

Requirements

• Gramps 5.1, 5.2 or 6.0.x (one code base fits all), Python 3, GTK 3.
• If you import a filter that references a rule add‑on (e.g. a custom rule), install that same add‑on in the target Gramps — the import will warn you if it's missing.

Documentation

Click the Guide button in the gramplet (or open GUIDE.md) for the full walkthrough: concepts, building and testing filters, import/export, Export to / Remove from Gramps' Filter Editor, favorites, regex/case, and known limitations. The guide opens in Danish automatically when Gramps runs in Danish.

License

Released under the GNU General Public License v2.0 or later (GPL‑2.0‑or‑later), the same license as Gramps.

Author

Henning — contact@myown-project.dk · https://myown-project.dk