This filter, initially proposed by the Bonux plugin and then integrated into the core with SPIP 3.0.17, applies to :
-  either an array of inputs where each value is of the form 
type_objet|id_objet. For example :array("rubrique|9", "article|8") -  or a string of the form 
rubrique|9,article|8,... 
It returns an array of couples (objet => id_objet).
If given a type argument, the resulting array is restricted to objects of that type.
Examples
After #SET{liste, #LISTE{article|1,article|2,rubrique|5}}
[(#GET{liste}|picker_selected)] returns the array array('article' => 1, 'article' => 2, 'rubrique' => 5)
and [(#GET{liste}|picker_selected{article})] returns the array array('article' => 1, 'article' => 2) which contains only articles.
Use
The format rubrique|9,article|8,... is that provided by generic selector entries.
Example : If in a plugin, the configuration form proposes a section selector named "home", we can recover the selection in the template with:
{id_rubrique IN #CONFIG{monplugin/accueil}|picker_selected{rubrique}}