Crafting rules to create filters involves an understanding of how items are defined as Categories and Groups in the game, and how boolean rules can distinguish them from each other. Charge is a category, and Heavy Missile is a Group which is distinct from Advanced Heavy Missile. The Filters UI doesn't make this abundantly clear because Category is not an option for the first filter box. At the top-left of the inventory sidebar is the heading "Index", next to a 4-line preferences menu icon. The options given in this menu are:

Details is a very compact table layout with no icon, except for a small badge that indicates tech levels of 2 and above. Third party applications with access to AssetList can retrieve and search all of your possessions, including inside containers and ships.By default the My Filters box will reset itself when you change the container being viewed. This option makes filters persistent. List is a compact table layout that includes a small icon and several descriptive category columns. Slot Highs (it is common to separate modules into station containers, but it's not necessary, and not feasible in POS arrays for w-space) The basic layout of the Filter creator is: Filter | Boolean | Subfilter(s), with an All/Any rule matching option at the bottom of the modal window. The minus sign to the left of all rows will delete that row. There is no plus sign, simply scroll down. Depending on the filter chosen, the rest of the selection boxes for that line will change. Around 2014, containers were made searchable using the assets window. This is made it very convenient to sort items into containers. Please note that you cannot remotely create contracts with items in containers even after this change!

You may also type three-letter abbreviations of some of the parameters, such as sta: for a station name. Please note that if you are searching by item name, you should include the "type:" parameter to ensure it combines properly with the others. The volume meter shows the current cubic meter (m Filters provide a dynamic rule-based way to control what items are shown in the contents pane. This can allow for faster and more powerful viewing options than the UI controls can normally offer.