Pre-filtering Events When Certain Users Land on an Event Grid or Event List

Event Grids and Event Lists can display a number of different interactive filters visitors can use to winnow down the events that display

However, sometimes you might want to direct users to an Event Grid or Event List with one or more filters already set--this is a great way to reduce the number of web pages you need to create or create helpful links to certain kinds of events around your site. For instance, you might want:

• A link to all events in a specific venue from a page dedicated to that venue
• A link to events restricted to a certain type, section, genre, or search keyword from a page featuring those events
• A link to events similar to the one they are currently browsing
• An option in the View Switcher that shows only on-demand videos or live streams

This guide will show you how to take an Event Grid or Event List you've already created and link to it, pre-filtered a certain way. There are similar options that are addressed elsewhere:

• To pre-filter Event Calendar or List of Shows pages by a specific festival, season, or series, learn more about Custom Event Calendars here.
• To pre-filter an Event Grid or Event List on a certain webpage no matter where it is linked from, learn about Showing Only Certain Events in a Listing Template here

What Is a Querystring Parameter?

That's a technical term for something that isn't as scary as it sounds. Have you ever noticed some URLs in a web browser have a bunch of stuff after a ? or & character? Like this?

https://www.somesite.com/events/?_genres=documentary&_venues=royal-cinema

If you've ever wondered what that was all about, this is your chance to find out.

Here's an Event Grid. Watch what happens when we apply a filter or two.

Each time a filter is applied, some stuff is added to the URL. That's what we're going to do to pre-filter events--add that extra stuff in the URL we use in our links.

Creating a link

We won't teach you all about querystring parameters--there are plenty of places on the internet to do that, like here.

By navigating to your Event Grid or Event List and applying filters, you can cheat and create the link you want to use and copy it. That's really all there is to it--just use that URL you copy as the destination from any link or button you want and the user will have those filter(s) pre-applied.

Note that the user will land on the Grid or List filtered, but they will still have the option to reset or change the filters to show more events. If you don't want the user to be able to do that, consider creating a separate page or view that only shows certain events.