"Previous Work Center" and "Next Work Center" value

Hi ​@Jakob Schmidt ,

The fields:

• Previous Work Center
• Next Work Center

are not stored as true NULL/empty values.

 When there is no previous/next operation, IFS often returns:

• a blank string (space) instead of NULL

This typically comes from:

• how the value is derived (calculated/chain logic in routing)
• legacy behavior carried into Cloud projections

Why search behaves differently

Basic Search

• Automatically trims spaces
• So:
  • " " → treated as empty
• You cannot reliably search for space-only values

Advanced Search

• Does not trim values the same way
• Allows:
  • exact matching (including spaces)

 That’s why:

• only Advanced Search works for your case

Why this happens (technical reason)

These fields are:

• derived fields (not always physically stored)
• calculated from:
  • operation sequence / routing links

When no value exists:

• system returns " " instead of NULL

What people usually do

Option 1 (most practical)

• Use Advanced Search
• Filter using:
  • is null / is empty (if available)

Option 2

• Create a custom field or indicator
• Example:
  • “Has Previous Operation = Yes/No”

Option 3 (reporting side)

• Handle using SQL:
  • TRIM(field) IS NULL OR = ''

Important limitation

• This is not configurable
• Basic Search:
  • will continue trimming spaces

Bottom line

• The fields are space-filled instead of truly empty by design
• Basic Search trims spaces → can’t filter properly
• Advanced Search works because it allows exact matching