Salesforce’s native Report Builder struggles with filtering when objects have both direct and chained lookup relationships to the same parent, creating confusion about which relationship path the filter applies to.
Here’s how to create precise filters that work correctly for each relationship path without the confusion of native report filtering.
Apply precise filtering with advanced AND/OR logic using Coefficient
Coefficient’sSalesforce’sadvanced filtering capabilities provide precise control over complex relationship filtering scenarios. You can create separate imports for each relationship path and apply specific filters to each, something impossible withstandard report filtering.
How to make it work
Step 1. Create separate imports for each relationship path.
Set up one import for the direct D→A relationship and another for the D→C→B→A chain. This allows you to apply different filtering criteria to each path based on your specific business requirements.
Step 2. Apply path-specific filters.
Filter the direct relationship based on Object A’s criteria while simultaneously filtering the chained relationship based on different criteria from the intermediate objects. Use AND/OR logic to create complex filtering conditions for each path.
Step 3. Set up dynamic filters for interactive control.
Use dynamic filters that point to cell values in your spreadsheet. This enables interactive filtering that users can adjust without editing import settings, particularly powerful when filtering the same parent object differently based on relationship path.
Step 4. Write custom SOQL for ultimate filtering flexibility.
Create WHERE clauses that explicitly handle the logic for multiple relationship paths. For example: WHERE (Direct_Parent__c = ‘Value1’) OR (Intermediate__r.Parent__c = ‘Value2’) allows conditional filtering based on which relationship path contains data.
Step 5. Combine filtered data intelligently.
SalesforceUse spreadsheet formulas to merge your separately filtered relationship paths. Apply business logic that determines which relationship path takes precedence when both contain data for the same parent object in.
Get the filtered data you actually need
Start using CoefficientThis approach eliminates the confusion and limitations of standard Salesforce report filtering when dealing with complex relationship structures.to create filters that actually work the way you need them to.