diff --git a/web/client/components/data/featuregrid/filterRenderers/AttributeFilter.jsx b/web/client/components/data/featuregrid/filterRenderers/AttributeFilter.jsx
index b2149bc8a6..dc28a76310 100644
--- a/web/client/components/data/featuregrid/filterRenderers/AttributeFilter.jsx
+++ b/web/client/components/data/featuregrid/filterRenderers/AttributeFilter.jsx
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ class AttributeFilter extends React.PureComponent {
             booleanOperators: ["="],
             defaultOperators: ["=", ">", "<", ">=", "<=", "<>", "isNull"],
             timeDateOperators: ["=", ">", "<", ">=", "<=", "<>", "><", "isNull"],
-            operator: this.props.isWithinAttrTbl ? "=" : "",
+            operator: this.props.isWithinAttrTbl ? (this.props.operator || '=') : "",
             isInputValid: true
         };
     }
diff --git a/web/client/components/data/featuregrid/filterRenderers/StringFilter.jsx b/web/client/components/data/featuregrid/filterRenderers/StringFilter.jsx
index adb13f44e3..4d781ef033 100644
--- a/web/client/components/data/featuregrid/filterRenderers/StringFilter.jsx
+++ b/web/client/components/data/featuregrid/filterRenderers/StringFilter.jsx
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@ import { trim } from 'lodash';
 export default compose(
     defaultProps({
         onValueChange: () => {},
-        placeholderMsgId: "featuregrid.filter.placeholders.string"
+        placeholderMsgId: "featuregrid.filter.placeholders.string",
+        operator: 'ilike'
     }),
     withHandlers({
         onChange: props => ({value, attribute, inputOperator} = {}) => {
diff --git a/web/client/components/data/featuregrid/filterRenderers/__tests__/StringFilter-test.jsx b/web/client/components/data/featuregrid/filterRenderers/__tests__/StringFilter-test.jsx
index 2f9bf53922..c9da5b6256 100644
--- a/web/client/components/data/featuregrid/filterRenderers/__tests__/StringFilter-test.jsx
+++ b/web/client/components/data/featuregrid/filterRenderers/__tests__/StringFilter-test.jsx
@@ -35,6 +35,15 @@ describe('Test for StringFilter component', () => {
         expect(el).toExist();
         expect(el.value).toBe("TEST");
     });
+    it('test the text field with the ilike default operator in attribute table', () => {
+        ReactDOM.render(<StringFilter value={"TEST"} type="string" isWithinAttrTbl />, document.getElementById("container"));
+        const el = document.getElementsByClassName("form-control input-sm")[0];
+        expect(el).toExist();
+        expect(el.value).toBe("TEST");
+        const operatorEl = document.querySelector('.rw-input');
+        expect(operatorEl).toExist();
+        expect(operatorEl.innerHTML).toEqual("ilike");
+    });
     it('Test StringFilter onChange', () => {
         const actions = {
             onChange: () => {}