Best way to apply multiple (5+) filters to a database

[ultine]

Hello!

In Excel I made a fairly fancy flash card viewer/creator using macros and user forms. It has a few functions that I want to incorporate into my forms that I am making in OpenOffice.org, but I need some help. I have successfully transferred all 3000 flash cards into a database in OOo. I have linked a form to it so i can view the cards and create new ones. However, in my Excel version (which, as one may guess, was pretty messy as it was in a spreadsheet), I had created the ability to easily sort the cards by difficulty and by category. For example, I could create a "stack" of cards that consisted of all my Ocular Neuro-Anatomy cards that had been given a rating of 3 (out of 5) or higher. Then, as I looked at the cards, I could choose to put them back in the "working stack" or have them discarded.

So essentially, there were 3 things that made this application awesome (humbly):
1. Filter by rank
2. Filter by category (selecting many categories at one time, or just one category)
3. Choose to either discard a card, or shuffle it back in the "working stack."

So, without asking too many questions in one post, what is the best way to incorporate this kind of flexibility with a database? Sub forms? Queries?

I expect someone will mention that I could just use the filter tool in the navigation bar. Likely I will be the only one using this, so I don't have a problem with using the filter tool in the nav bar, it is a little bit limiting, though. Let's say I have 30 categories in my 3000 cards and each category has 10 sub categories, and each card has a rank from 1 to 5, I would like to be able to select (maybe from a list box) many categories to include, or subcategories, and then set a rating filter (1 to 5). Even adding additional filters like "author" (who made the card) and maybe even "date" or something like that. Essentially, I don't want to be limited by the 3 or 4 options it gives me in the filter tool pop-up.

In the end, I'd like to be able to apply a set of filters to the 3000 cards so that I am just navigating through a hand full of records (like 20-100) at a time, and discarding them when I choose to, but then be able to shuffle them back in so I have the 20 (or 100 or whatever) cards that I began with back.

I hope I am making sense, if anything is unclear, just let me know.

I am trying to make the switch from the "straight forward" method of using a spreadsheet to organize and store data to, what I am learning, is a much more stable method, i.e. Databases.

Thanks to anyone that takes the time to read all of this

Thanks even more for replying. Any help will be much appreciated.