ApplyYourself Hack to Use Free-form Text Filters for Choice Group Fields

I discovered an interesting bug in ApplyYourself that makes it possible to do something that should've been standard functionality: Setup normal text filters using the Contains operator with Choice Group fields.

Imagine trying to get a list of all records that have Program value containing the word "Bachelor" when your Program field is setup as a Choice Group with over 100 options. The standard query interface forces you to use the following filter:

• Program In this List ... (manually selecting every singe value using the tiny 3-line picklist)

Or, you may have smartly added "Bachelor" as an extra value to the associated Choice Group so that you can select that single value when using the Contains operator.

However, both of these methods are annoyances. What if I wanted to query something on the fly with a value that I haven't predicted to need before?

The hack workaround or solution is simpler than both alternatives:

1. Setup the filter with the desired field and the Contains operator with any value at all.

2. Click save and run.
3. Click the Back button in your browser, not in ApplyYourself. The picklist will have now magically turned into a free-form text field!