Since the standard filter system has gotten rather good, I only use typed-in filters for 2 or 3 Panes. When I do use them, it is the “?” button I click for a syntax reference, not the “advanced” box. The only reason I have to click that box is to check the syntax of a standard filter that I want to use with AND, OR, etc. That need could easily (and more consistently) be provided by simply adding those entries to the “?” button’s contents.
The “advanced” box is more of a display setting than a mode since checking the box grants no new functionality. Typed-in filters can be entered at any time and the “?” info is always available. It just toggles icon-display for the filters. If anything, that sounds more like a “training” mode for someone learning the typed-out syntax.
Being present on every individual Pane strongly implies that it is a Pane-level control. If it is meant to be universal, I would expect it to be in Settings. That makes it harder to toggle quickly and less discoverable but…it’s an “advanced” control after all…😝
As it is today, this control could simply be removed. My preference would be to keep it, but instead of toggling the icons, have it slide out a single, long textbox directly above the “?” contents, where I have plenty of space to type in an actual “advanced” filter. Entering text there would cause an “A” or “gear” icon to display with the filter icons instead of jamming all that ugly syntax – which almost always gets truncated – into the toolbar. This would be visually clean, easier to edit, and still really easy to not only disable but also “tease” (by leaving it present but grey) for users on lower subscription plans.
