In Power BI, filters can help you quickly find the data you want. A filter can be applied to a table or measure field, allowing you to filter for specific criteria. You can create your filters or choose from premade filters available in every dataset and custom ones built using properties defined for each filter type.
Filters in Power BI can be customized in many ways, such as allowing users to choose from a list of options or to enter specific values. In addition, filters can be applied and adjusted in real-time, making it easy for users to refine their analysis and gain deeper insights into their data.
With its flexible filtering options, Power BI makes it easy to create customized reports that meet the specific needs of any organization.
Here is Filter Type Comparison in Power BI
| Filter type | Edit | Clear | Delete | Hide | Lock | Sort | Rename |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual filters | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Auto filters | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Include/Exclude filters | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | N |
| Drill-down filters | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N |
| Cross Drill filters | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
| Drillthrough filters (Invokes drillthrough) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N |
| Drillthrough filters (Transient) | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N |
| URL filters – transient | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N |
| Pass Through filters | N | N | Y | Y | N | Y | N |
Finding the Right Filter for Your Needs in Power BI
You can use a filter to exclude all sales data that falls below a certain threshold or to include only data from specific periods. Filters can be applied to individual visuals or an entire page and can be customized to fit your specific needs. Power BI offers a variety of filters that you can use to slice and dice your data. Here are some of the most commonly used filters in Power BI:
1. Visual-level Filters
These filters apply to a specific visual or chart, allowing you to filter data for a particular chart without affecting other visuals on the same report page. You can filter by one or more values in a specific column.
For example, if you want to view only accounts with a balance of $100 or greater, enter “=100” in the Balance column. When you apply this filter, you will see only accounts with $100 or more significant balances in the report.
You can specify multiple values using the following format: [value1] – [value2].
2. Page-level Filters
These filters are applied at the page level and apply to only one or two visual elements. For example, if you have a menu group on your report and want to show or hide one of its submenus, you can use a Page Level Filter. This option is available only if you use a multilevel hierarchy report.
You can create page-level filters by adding them to the Page Filters tab of the Report Manager. You can also add page-level filters from within a report by selecting any visual on the report page, then clicking Add Page Filter from the ribbon’s Home tab.
3. Report-level Filters
These filters apply to an entire report, allowing you to filter data across all report pages and visuals. In addition, report-level filters are applied on top of the filter settings and can customize the report output by only showing specific data or hiding certain data.
This is especially helpful when you display multiple reports with similar data differently. For example, suppose you have a collection of financial statements that use a different format for each page. Then, you can create a single filter that applies across your entire collection of financial statements.
4. Drill-Through Filters
These filters allow you to navigate from one report page to another by clicking on a data point. Drill-through reports are helpful when a user wants to view only certain records or subsets of the data in a report. A drill-through report also allows users to compare data efficiently across multiple reports.
You can also use drill-through filters to view and compare more than one report at a time. For example, compare two different sales pipeline reports.
This lets you navigate between reports within your dashboard. This feature is similar to the navigation buttons in an HTML table.
5. Slicer Filters
These filters provide a user-friendly interface for selecting one or more values from a list. They typically display data as a pie chart or bar graph, with one value selected by the user. The Slicer filter is an advanced type of slicer allowing users to filter the data based on multiple attributes.
A slicer can also be used for numeric values. A slicer can be used for both text-based and numeric values. Slicers are not limited to numeric value selection; they can be used with any data type.
6. Cross-filtering
Cross-filtering is a feature that allows you to filter one visual based on selections in another visual, creating a dynamic relationship between visuals.
For example, you could filter the current visualization in your dashboard using the Questions tab and then select specific questions from the questions list to be included in the new visualization.
The cross-filtering feature allows you to create dynamic relationships between visuals by allowing you to filter one visual based on selections in another visual.
7. Top N Filters
The top and bottom N filters help display a smaller number of measures. These filters allow you to display the top or bottom N values based on a specified measure.
The top N filter allows you to show the top N measures in an analysis, while the bottom N filter allows you to show the bottom N measures in an analysis.
8. Relative Date Filters
Relative date filters allow you to filter data based on comparable periods, such as the last seven days, last month, or next quarter.
These filters provide more flexibility than the other filters because they can be applied at any time and do not require a specific start and end date.
9. Advanced Filters
These filters allow you to create complex filter expressions using multiple conditions and logical operators.
You can use advanced filters to combine multiple conditions, making creating complex rules that match more complex data easier. For example, if you want to apply custom logic to only a subset of your data, you can use an advanced filter.
Advanced filters are helpful when applying complex conditions to your data to apply more specific rules (e.g., letting some customers in but not others).
How to Apply Report Filter in Power BI Desktop?
Applying a report filter in Power BI Desktop allows you to filter your visualizations and focus on specific data relevant to your analysis. Here’s how you can apply a report filter in Power BI Desktop:
Step 1: Open the report page that you want to filter
Step 2: Click on the visualization that you want to filter.
Step 3: In the Visualizations pane, select the “Filters” icon (a funnel-shaped icon) to open the Filters pane.
Step 4: In the Filters pane, select the field that you want to use as a filter.
Step 5: Choose the type of filter that you want to apply from the drop-down list. For example, you can choose “Basic filtering,” “Advanced filtering,” “Relative date filtering,” or “Top N filtering.”
Step 6: Set the filter criteria, such as selecting the values you want to include or exclude from the visualization.
Step 7: Click on “Apply Filter” to apply the filter to the visualization.
You can also apply filters to multiple visualizations on the same page by selecting the visualizations and then applying the filter to all of them simultaneously. Additionally, you can apply filters to the entire report by selecting the “Filters” icon in the Fields pane and setting the filter criteria for the entire report.
What are the Different Kinds of Filtering Methods
A filter is used to restrict the data that is displayed in a visual or chart based on specific criteria or conditions. There are several different sorting methods available for filtering data in various data analysis tools, including:
- Ascending/Descending sorting: This is the most common type of sorting, where data is sorted depending on a particular column in ascending or descending order.
- Alphabetical/numerical sorting: This type of sorting is used to sort data in alphabetical or numerical order based on a selected column.
- Custom sorting: Custom sorting involves sorting data based on a custom-defined order, such as sorting a list of countries in a specific region.
- Top/bottom sorting: This type of sorting is used to sort data based on a specific measure, such as sorting by the highest or lowest sales figures.
- Interactive sorting: Interactive sorting allows users to sort data dynamically by clicking on a data point or column heading in a chart or table.
- Multi-column sorting: Multi-column sorting is used to sort data based on multiple columns, such as sorting by date and sales figures.
- Advanced sorting: Advanced sorting involves sorting data based on complex expressions or conditions, such as sorting by the sum of sales figures for a specific region and product category.
Different filtering methods may be used depending on the specific requirements and goals of the data analysis project. For example, in Power BI, users can use many filtering methods to explore and analyze data effectively.
What’s the Difference Between a Slicer and a Filter?
Slicers are visual controls that allow you to filter data based on specific values, while filters are more flexible controls that allow you to filter data based on multiple criteria. Both tools are essential for data analysis in Power BI and can help you quickly identify trends and insights in your data. In Power BI, slicers and filters are used to limit the data that is displayed in a report or dashboard. The main variations between the two are as follows:
Functionality
Filters can exclude or include data based on specific conditions, such as dates, values, or categories. On the other hand, Slicers provide an interactive interface for filtering data by allowing users to choose one or more values from a drop-down menu.
User interface
Filters and slicers have different user interfaces. Filters are typically located in the filter pane and filter the entire report or a specific visual. On the other hand, Slicers are visual elements that can be added to a report page, providing an interactive way for users to filter data.
Interactivity
Slicers are more interactive than filters. Users can click on a slicer to select one or more values, and the visuals on the report page will update automatically to show only the data that matches the selected values. Filters, however, require users to adjust the filter settings to update the report manually.
Scope
Filters can be applied to unique visuals, pages, or the entire report, whereas slicers are typically used to filter data within a single report page.
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