Reporting - Use a Slicer to provide a simple filter option on a report

In this article, we’ll see how a handy on-screen visualisation called a Slicer makes it easier for viewers to interact with a Power BI report.

Filters can be added to a report to offer multiple choices to refine and simplify the data as required. However, Filters are accessed in the Filter panel, and may not be noticed by report viewers.

Slicers, however, appear directly on the main report page alongside your data visualizations. This makes a Slicer a much more visible way to show report viewers how to refine and simplify report data. You have the option to:

• Add more than one slicer
• Decide where to position them on the page
• Edit the formatting of the slicer to work in harmony with your data

Watch the video or follow the steps below to see how:

Steps to add a slicer to a report

1. Start a new User-created report or open an existing User-created report
2. From the Visualisations panel, select the 'Slicer' option:
3. A new slicer is added to the page. Note in the Visualisations panel, the option of 'Field' will appear. The datafield inserted here, will populate in the Slicer.
4. Drag and drop Data Fields into the slicer:
5. Drag and drop the slicer into the preferred position on the page

Steps to format a Slicer

There are a number of options available to format the appearance of a Slicer, for example to display options as a drop-down list or as tiled options, change font size, style, and colour. 

1. Select the Slicer on the report page
2. Select 'Format Visual' to access options to change the Font and Style of the Slicer, and 'multi-select' options:
3. A 'Search' option can also be added to the Slicer. To add a search, select the 3 dots directly on the slicer:

Discover more about User-created reports

For a hands-on learning experience, explore our Deep dive courses in The Academy, and watch as Gary builds reports from scratch to meet specific briefs. 

If you prefer to start at the beginning, check out Get Started: Reporting and Analytics with Power BI. You'll begin with Power BI’s top five features, then dive deeper into each one with step-by-step guidance.

Need quick answers? Check out our FAQ, Reporting and Analytics with Power BI, packed with 100+ common questions and in-depth resources. You can also join our regular Ask Me Anything: Reporting live events, to ask your question directly to a Power BI expert. Search PWRFAQ in The Academy for real-world use cases, examples, and scenarios with User-created reports.

Don't have your Academy account yet? Contact your Customer Experience Manager or the Support Team to sign up today.