Slicers and Filters
Make your reports interactive with slicers and filters
What You'll Learn
- Different types of filters
- Creating and formatting slicers
- Filter hierarchy (visual, page, report)
- Advanced filtering techniques
- Best practices
What are Filters?
Filters limit the data shown in your report.
Three main types:
- Visual filters: Affect one visual
- Page filters: Affect entire page
- Report filters: Affect entire report
Plus: Slicers (user-controlled filters)
Slicers
Visual filters users can interact with!
Types:
- List
- Dropdown
- Between (dates/numbers)
- Before/After
- Relative date
- Hierarchy
Creating a Slicer
Steps:
- Click Slicer icon
- Drag field to Field well
- Slicer appears!
Example: Add Region slicer - users can filter by region
List Slicer
Shows all values in list:
- Check boxes for selection
- Multiple selection (Ctrl+Click)
- Single selection mode
Best for:
- 3-10 options
- When you want to see all choices
Dropdown Slicer
Saves space:
- Click to open dropdown
- Select value
- Takes minimal space
Best for:
- Many options (10+)
- Limited dashboard space
- Mobile friendly
Convert to dropdown: Format > Slicer settings > Style: Dropdown
Date Slicers
Special options:
Between: Select date range with sliders
Before/After: All dates before or after selected date
List: Shows all dates (usually not ideal!)
Relative date: Last 7 days, This month, YTD, etc.
Numeric Slicers
Between: Slider for number range
Example: Price: $0 - $1000
Greater than/Less than: Filter by threshold
Slicer Formatting
Visual Style
Format > Slicer settings > Style:
- Vertical list
- Horizontal list
- Dropdown
- Tiles (with images!)
Selection Controls
Select all: Format > Selection controls > Select all: On
Adds "Select all" option
Single select: Force one selection only
Search: Format > Slicer header > Search: On
Searchable slicer!
Appearance
Format > Slicer items:
- Font and color
- Background
- Spacing
Format > Slicer header:
- Title
- Icon
- Background
Format > Background:
- Card color
- Border
- Shadow
Filter Pane
Right side of Power BI Desktop.
Three levels:
1. Visual Level Filters
Affects: One visual only
How to use:
- Select visual
- Filters pane shows "Filters on this visual"
- Drag field here
- Set filter conditions
Example: Show only Top 10 products in this chart
2. Page Level Filters
Affects: All visuals on current page
How to use:
- Click blank canvas (deselect visuals)
- Drag field to "Filters on this page"
- Set conditions
Example: Show only current year data on this page
3. Report Level Filters
Affects: All pages in report
How to use: Drag field to "Filters on all pages"
Example: Exclude test data from entire report
Filter Types
Basic Filtering
For text:
- Select values from list
- Check/uncheck options
For numbers:
- Is/Is not
- Greater than/Less than
- Between
For dates:
- Is/Is not
- Before/After
- Between
Advanced Filtering
Contains: Product name contains "Pro"
Does not contain: Exclude certain values
Starts with: Region starts with "N" (North)
Is blank / Is not blank: Find missing data
Top N Filtering
Show only top/bottom N:
- Top 10 customers
- Bottom 5 products
- Top 20%
How to: Filter type: Top N Count: 10 By: Sales
Filter Interactions
Cross-filtering: Click bar chart, others filter automatically
Control interactions: Format > Edit interactions
Per visual:
- Filter
- Highlight
- None
Example: Region slicer filters sales chart but not customer count
Filter Hierarchy
Order of application:
- Report filters (first)
- Page filters
- Visual filters
- Slicer filters (last)
All combine together!
Sync Slicers
Same slicer across pages:
- Select slicer
- View > Sync slicers
- Choose pages to sync to
- Slicer appears on all selected pages!
Benefits:
- Consistent filtering
- Better UX
- Easier maintenance
Relative Date Filtering
Dynamic time periods:
Last N days: Last 7 days (always rolling)
This period: This month, This quarter, This year
Next period: Next month, Next quarter
Period to date: MTD, QTD, YTD
Use case: Always show current month without updating filter!
Filter Persistence
Filters remember: When users return, their filter selections persist
Personal bookmarks: Users can save their favorite filter combinations
Performance Tips
Reduce data early: Report-level filters applied first = faster!
Use slicers for common filters: Date, region, category
Avoid too many slicers: 5-7 max per page
Pre-filter in Power Query: Remove unnecessary data before loading
Best Practices
Placement
Consistent location: Top or left side
Group related: Date slicers together
Don't hide: Make filters obvious
Design
Clear labels: "Select Region" not just "Region"
Limit choices: Too many = overwhelming
Default selections: Set smart defaults
Responsive: Works on mobile
User Experience
Search for long lists: Enable search on slicers
Select all option: Let users reset easily
Visual feedback: Show what's filtered
Try This Exercise
Create interactive dashboard:
-
Add slicers:
- Date (relative: This year)
- Region (dropdown)
- Category (list with search)
-
Add page filter:
- Exclude returned orders
-
Add report filter:
- Exclude test data
-
Create visuals:
- Sales card
- Sales by month line chart
- Sales by product bar chart
-
Test interactions:
- Click slicers
- Verify all visuals filter
-
Format slicers:
- Consistent colors
- Aligned nicely
Common Issues
Slicer not filtering visual:
- Check Edit interactions
- Verify relationship exists
Too slow:
- Too much data
- Add report-level filter
Slicer shows blanks:
- Data has null values
- Add "is not blank" filter
Cross-filtering not working:
- Check Edit interactions settings
- Verify data relationships
Advanced Techniques
Disconnected Slicers
What: Slicer not connected to model
Why: For parameter selection (what-if)
How: Create calculated table with values
Measure-based Slicers
Dynamic filtering: Use measure to control filter logic
Example: "Show all" vs "Show top 10" toggle
Next Steps
Now let's learn Custom Visuals from the marketplace!
Tip: Less is more with filters. Too many slicers = confused users!