---
title: Using Filters to Create Better Diagrams
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Cloudcraft (Standalone) > Getting started > Using Filters to Create
  Better Diagrams
---

# Using Filters to Create Better Diagrams

The number of components rendered at once for large environment diagrams can introduce performance and readability issues, making for a poor experience.

To avoid these issues, Cloudcraft recommends that you use the **Filtered layout** feature to apply filters, or exclude services when placing live components.

Building smaller diagrams makes managing them much easier. It also gives viewers more control over how they ingest information.

{% alert level="info" %}
If you are using Cloudcraft's New Live Experience, see this documentation: [Crafting Better Diagrams: Cloudcraft's Live Diagramming and Filtering](https://docs.datadoghq.com/cloudcraft/getting-started/crafting-better-diagrams/ "Crafting Better Diagrams: Cloudcraft's Live Diagramming and Filtering").
{% /alert %}

## Search patterns{% #search-patterns %}

{% image
   source="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/cloudcraft/getting-started/use-filters-to-create-better-diagrams/search-patterns.997d3e6de3be755241544e9f8ab4227b.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850 1x, https://docs.dd-static.net/images/cloudcraft/getting-started/use-filters-to-create-better-diagrams/search-patterns.997d3e6de3be755241544e9f8ab4227b.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850&dpr=2 2x"
   alt="Search patterns being used in Cloudcraft." /%}

The search box on the **Live** tab allows you to enter patterns that affect your scan result.

The patterns the application supports include:

- Matching component's name or ID. For example, `i-052g93wu49qed3hxw`.
- Matching component's type. For example, `type=ec2`.
- Matching component's IP address. For example, `172.31.42.142`.
- Matching tagged components. For example, `environment=prod` or `environment`.
- Matching components inside a VPC, security group, or subnet. For example, `vpc-088c40abeb9ce0c1d`.

You can also use operators:

- AND (`type=ec2 AND env=prod`).
- OR (`type=ec2 OR type=rds`)
- NOT (`NOT platform=linux`)
- (…) (`type=rds AND (env=staging OR env=prod)`).

Combine these two features, and you can build powerful filters, allowing you to scope your diagram to one or more applications.

## Excluding services{% #excluding-services %}

{% image
   source="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/cloudcraft/getting-started/use-filters-to-create-better-diagrams/excluding-services.4cebed7e453133ffc6462ff1c6e23daa.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850 1x, https://docs.dd-static.net/images/cloudcraft/getting-started/use-filters-to-create-better-diagrams/excluding-services.4cebed7e453133ffc6462ff1c6e23daa.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=850&dpr=2 2x"
   alt="AWS services being excluded from a Cloudcraft diagram." /%}

Search patterns may be overkill if you only want to exclude a few services, so Cloudcraft offers an easier way to accomplish this task.

After scanning your AWS account, click **Auto Layout** on the **Live** tab to view a two-column list with services from your AWS environment.

You can move services from the **Included services** to the **Excluded services** column—or vice versa—by clicking them.

## Using search patterns and applying filters{% #using-search-patterns-and-applying-filters %}

Let us put some of these concepts into practice.

Imagine you're creating an architecture diagram but only want to show EC2 instances and EBS volumes tagged with `service=wirecraft`. You also want to ignore any EC2 instances in the "Stopped" state.

You already scanned your AWS environment, and Cloudcraft shows a list of components from your account in your inventory. What's next?

1. On the **Live** tab, type the search pattern that corresponds to your query in the search box. In this example, the pattern is `service=wirecraft AND (type=ec2 running OR type=ebs)`. Notice that the button **Auto Layout** now says **Filtered Layout**.
1. Click **Filtered Layout**.
1. Click **Layout**. The components in the diagram now match the pattern in Step 1.

Other alternatives include:

- Running the same query on another AWS region. Before you click **Layout**, select **Include existing components** from the **Options** dropdown. Doing so would perform a filtered layout on all the components for the secondary region currently in your inventory and all the components already on the diagram.
- Combining **Filtered layout** with the **Blueprint link** feature to break down larger environments into multiple diagrams that link to each other. You can also have an overview diagram that provides a quick glance of your whole cloud architecture with no performance penalties.

{% video
   url="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/cloudcraft/getting-started/use-filters-to-create-better-diagrams/filtered-layout-search-patterns-wb5btuyldh4q.mp4" /%}