[$250] Reports - Nothing to show page is not shown when a member of a workspace is removed

[jponikarchuk]

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Version Number: v9.2.78-0
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: Yes
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: #76879
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): n/a
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Pull Request QA execution
Device used: Mac 15.4.1 Safari
App Component: Workspace Settings

Action Performed:

Prerequisite: Have two accounts opened on two different devices or environments.
Prerequisite 2: User A has at least one workspace created.

1.Navigate to https://staging.new.expensify.com
2.Open any workspace chat.
3.Mention User B and select "Invite to submit expenses" on whisper.
4.As User B, navigate to "Reports"
5.Clear search input and type "Workspace:"
6.Select workspace from User A, on suggestions and trigger the search.
7.As User A, remove User B from workspace.

Expected Result:

When member of a workspace is removed after triggering a search filtering by workspace, the name of the workspace on search input, should remain the same and a "No results" screen should be visible, as workspace is no longer existent on account.

Actual Result:

When a member of a workspace is removed after triggering a search filtering by workspace, the "You haven't created any expenses yet" page is shown with Create expense button, which may be confusing as workspace is no longer existent on account.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

• Android: App
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: App
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• iOS: mWeb Chrome
• Windows: Chrome
• MacOS: Chrome / Safari

Screenshots/Videos

1.mp4

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Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~022000957989897983082
• Upwork Job ID: 2000957989897983082
• Last Price Increase: 2025-12-30

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @youssef-lr

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @NicMendonca (Bug), see https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/14418 for more details. Please add this bug to a GH project, as outlined in the SO.

[ShridharGoel]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

When a user searches expenses filtered by a workspace and is later removed from that workspace, the empty state shows the “You haven't created any expenses yet” creation prompt.

What is the root cause of that problem?

The empty-state logic only shows the generic “Nothing to show” view when hasResults is true or when the query is the default unfiltered search. For filtered searches (such as by workspace) that return zero matches, the code falls through to the default expense empty state, which encourages creating expenses.

App/src/pages/Search/EmptySearchView.tsx

Lines 348 to 448 in 0c92ee7

	// If we didn't match a specific search hash, show a specific message based on the type of the data
	switch (type) {
	case CONST.SEARCH.DATA_TYPES.TRIP:
	return {
	headerMedia: LottieAnimations.TripsEmptyState,
	headerContentStyles: [styles.emptyStateFolderWebStyles, StyleUtils.getBackgroundColorStyle(theme.travelBG)],
	title: translate('travel.title'),
	titleStyles: {...styles.textAlignLeft},
	children: tripViewChildren,
	lottieWebViewStyles: {backgroundColor: theme.travelBG, ...styles.emptyStateFolderWebStyles, ...styles.tripEmptyStateLottieWebView},
	};
	case CONST.SEARCH.DATA_TYPES.EXPENSE_REPORT:
	if (hasResults && (!queryJSON || !isDefaultExpenseReportsQuery(queryJSON) || hasExpenseReports)) {
	return {
	...defaultViewItemHeader,
	title: translate('search.searchResults.emptyResults.title'),
	subtitle: translate('search.searchResults.emptyResults.subtitle'),
	};
	}
	if (!hasResults || !hasExpenseReports) {
	return {
	...defaultViewItemHeader,
	title: translate('search.searchResults.emptyReportResults.title'),
	subtitle: translate(hasSeenTour ? 'search.searchResults.emptyReportResults.subtitleWithOnlyCreateButton' : 'search.searchResults.emptyReportResults.subtitle'),
	buttons: [
	...(!hasSeenTour
	? [
	{
	buttonText: translate('emptySearchView.takeATestDrive'),
	buttonAction: startTestDriveAction,
	},
	]
	: []),
	...(groupPoliciesWithChatEnabled.length > 0
	? [
	{
	buttonText: translate('quickAction.createReport'),
	buttonAction: () => {
	interceptAnonymousUser(() => {
	const workspaceIDForReportCreation = defaultChatEnabledPolicyID;
	if (
	!workspaceIDForReportCreation ||
	(shouldRestrictUserBillableActions(workspaceIDForReportCreation) && groupPoliciesWithChatEnabled.length > 1)
	) {
	// If we couldn't guess the workspace to create the report, or a guessed workspace is past it's grace period and we have other workspaces to choose from
	Navigation.navigate(ROUTES.NEW_REPORT_WORKSPACE_SELECTION.getRoute());
	return;
	}
	if (!shouldRestrictUserBillableActions(workspaceIDForReportCreation)) {
	handleCreateReportClick();
	} else {
	Navigation.navigate(ROUTES.RESTRICTED_ACTION.getRoute(workspaceIDForReportCreation));
	}
	});
	},
	success: true,
	},
	]
	: []),
	],
	};
	}
	// eslint-disable-next-line no-fallthrough
	case CONST.SEARCH.DATA_TYPES.EXPENSE:
	if (hasResults && (!queryJSON || !isDefaultExpensesQuery(queryJSON) || hasTransactions)) {
	return {
	...defaultViewItemHeader,
	title: translate('search.searchResults.emptyResults.title'),
	subtitle: translate('search.searchResults.emptyResults.subtitle'),
	};
	}
	if (!hasResults || !hasTransactions) {
	return {
	...defaultViewItemHeader,
	title: translate('search.searchResults.emptyExpenseResults.title'),
	subtitle: translate(hasSeenTour ? 'search.searchResults.emptyExpenseResults.subtitleWithOnlyCreateButton' : 'search.searchResults.emptyExpenseResults.subtitle'),
	buttons: [
	...(!hasSeenTour
	? [
	{
	buttonText: translate('emptySearchView.takeATestDrive'),
	buttonAction: startTestDriveAction,
	},
	]
	: []),
	{
	buttonText: translate('iou.createExpense'),
	buttonAction: () =>
	interceptAnonymousUser(() => {
	if (shouldRedirectToExpensifyClassic) {
	setModalVisible(true);
	return;
	}
	startMoneyRequest(CONST.IOU.TYPE.CREATE, generateReportID());
	}),
	success: true,
	},
	],
	};

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

Adjust the empty-state guard so that any non-default (filtered) expense or expense report search shows the generic “Nothing to show” view when there are no results, instead of the "create" text. Also compute the default-query flags once to simplify the checks.

Code updates in src/pages/Search/EmptySearchView.tsx:

const isDefaultExpensesSearch = !queryJSON || isDefaultExpensesQuery(queryJSON);
const isDefaultExpenseReportsSearch = !queryJSON || isDefaultExpenseReportsQuery(queryJSON);

switch (type) {
    case CONST.SEARCH.DATA_TYPES.EXPENSE_REPORT:
        if (!isDefaultExpenseReportsSearch || (hasResults && hasExpenseReports)) {
            return {
                ...defaultViewItemHeader,
                title: translate('search.searchResults.emptyResults.title'),
                subtitle: translate('search.searchResults.emptyResults.subtitle'),
            };
        }
        if (!hasResults || !hasExpenseReports) {
            return { ... }; // keep current report empty-state actions
        }
    case CONST.SEARCH.DATA_TYPES.EXPENSE:
        if (!isDefaultExpensesSearch || (hasResults && hasTransactions)) {
            return {
                ...defaultViewItemHeader,
                title: translate('search.searchResults.emptyResults.title'),
                subtitle: translate('search.searchResults.emptyResults.subtitle'),
            };
        }
        if (!hasResults || !hasTransactions) {
            return { ... }; // keep current expense empty-state actions
        }

[abbasifaizan70]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

When a user is removed from a workspace after triggering a search filtered by that workspace, the UI shows "You haven't created any expenses yet" with a "Create expense" button instead of showing a "No results" screen. This is confusing because:

1. The workspace no longer exists for the removed user
2. The "Create expense" button suggests they can still create expenses in that context, which is misleading
3. The workspace name should remain visible in the search input with a "No results" message

What is the root cause of that problem?

The root cause is in EmptySearchView.tsx where the logic for determining which empty state to show doesn't properly account for filtered searches that return no results due to access changes.

How the empty state logic currently works:

case CONST.SEARCH.DATA_TYPES.EXPENSE:
    if (hasResults && (!queryJSON || !isDefaultExpensesQuery(queryJSON) || hasTransactions)) {
        return {
            ...defaultViewItemHeader,
            title: translate('search.searchResults.emptyResults.title'),
            subtitle: translate('search.searchResults.emptyResults.subtitle'),
        };
    }
    if (!hasResults || !hasTransactions) {
        return {
            ...defaultViewItemHeader,
            title: translate('search.searchResults.emptyExpenseResults.title'),
            // Shows "You haven't created any expenses yet"

The isDefaultExpensesQuery function:

function isDefaultExpensesQuery(queryJSON: SearchQueryJSON) {
    return queryJSON.type === CONST.SEARCH.DATA_TYPES.EXPENSE && !queryJSON.status && !queryJSON.filters && !queryJSON.groupBy && !queryJSON.policyID;
}

Why the bug occurs:

1. User B applies a workspace filter → queryJSON.policyID is set
2. isDefaultExpensesQuery(queryJSON) returns false (because policyID is set)
3. User A removes User B from workspace
4. Backend returns hasResults: false (no results for that workspace filter)
5. The first condition fails because hasResults is false:

   if (hasResults && (!queryJSON || !isDefaultExpensesQuery(queryJSON) || hasTransactions))
   // hasResults = false, condition fails

6. Falls through to second condition:

   if (!hasResults || !hasTransactions) {
   // !hasResults = true, shows "You haven't created any expenses yet"

7. This is wrong because:
   • User B does have expenses globally (hasTransactions from Onyx is true)
   • But since !hasResults is true, it shows the wrong message
   • The logic doesn't distinguish between "no results for this filter" vs "user never created expenses"

The core issue: The current logic uses hasResults (from the backend search response) as the primary condition, but when hasResults is false, it should still check whether filters are applied before deciding to show the "You haven't created any expenses yet" message.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

Modify the empty state logic in EmptySearchView.tsx to show "Nothing to show" when a filtered search returns no results, regardless of the hasResults value from the backend. The key change is to remove hasResults from the first condition and only check whether filters are applied.

File: App/src/pages/Search/EmptySearchView.tsx

Change the expense report empty state logic (line 360):

Current code:

if (hasResults && (!queryJSON || !isDefaultExpenseReportsQuery(queryJSON) || hasExpenseReports)) {

Change to:

if (!queryJSON || !isDefaultExpenseReportsQuery(queryJSON) || hasExpenseReports) {

Change the expense empty state logic (line 414):

Current code:

if (hasResults && (!queryJSON || !isDefaultExpensesQuery(queryJSON) || hasTransactions)) {

Change to:

if (!queryJSON || !isDefaultExpensesQuery(queryJSON) || hasTransactions) {

Why this fix works:

The hasResults check in the original condition was preventing the "Nothing to show" message from appearing when:

1. A filtered search is applied (workspace filter, status filter, etc.)
2. The backend returns no results (hasResults: false)

By removing hasResults from the condition, we rely on the remaining checks:

• !queryJSON - handles edge case of no query
• !isDefaultExpensesQuery(queryJSON) - key check: if any filters are applied, show "Nothing to show"
• hasTransactions - if user has transactions in Onyx, show "Nothing to show" (since they exist but just aren't matching current view)

The second condition (!hasResults || !hasTransactions) remains as a fallback for the true "first time user" case:

• Only reached when it's the default query AND user has no transactions
• Correctly shows "You haven't created any expenses yet" with the create button

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

Alternative 1: Check hasTransactions first
None

[melvin-bot]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~022000957989897983082

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to Contributor-plus team member for initial proposal review - @brunovjk (External)