chowrentoys.com: Can I hide the filter by view but still allow the customer to do their own filtering/searching of the record?
Yes - On step 3 of the Grid Wizard click the checkbox for filter header and make your default filter whatever you like. If you only have one filter then the filter menu drop down doesn't show up so the user would never know this list is filtered. In addition the customer will have access to the filter header input boxes so they can type in their own search terms. The customer is only going to be able to filter items contained within your default filter so they would not be able to search for items outside that default filter.
~C