Power BI Slicer | Sync Slicers in Power BI

Do you know what a slicer is and the usage of slicers in Power BI? In this tutorial, I will explain everything related to the Power BI Slicer, the advantages of a slicer, and how to add a slicer to Power BI.

Also, I will discuss how to use the slicer, format it, and its limitations in Power BI with various examples.

Moreover, we will see how to filter Measure by Slicer in Power BI.

Power BI Slicer

A slicer in Power BI is like a visual filter. It’s a user-friendly way to choose and view specific data, making it easy to slice through information by selecting options.

By default, Power BI reports are interactive. Each visual on a report canvas responds to a single click, highlighting the relevant data corresponding to the clicked element.

Unlike filters, the slicer provides an excellent visual method to filter the data on a report quickly.

In the below report, the Power BI slicers are the visuals indicated in the red box.

Below is the SharePoint list we will use to create a Power BI Slicer.

How to Add a Slicer in Power BI Desktop

Now I will tell you how to add a slicer to the Power BI desktop in simple steps

1. Open Power BI Desktop and load the data using the Get data option.

2. Under the Visualization panel, click the Slicer visual.

3. Drag and drop data from the Data panel to the Visualization panel Field. Here, in my case, I dragged and dropped the Region field.

In these steps, you can add a slicer in Power BI Desktop.

Different Slicers in Power BI

There are two types of Power BI Slicers. Such as:

1. Date Slicer in Power BI
2. Numeric Range Slicer in Power BI

Let’s explore one by one.

Date Slicer in Power BI

In Power BI, the Date slicers are easy to use, and the users filter data based on dates. It’s like a sliding bar at each end with two buttons present. We can slide forward or backward these buttons to adjust our date range.

To create a date slicer, follow the below steps:

1. Open Power BI and load data, then select the slicer under the visualization panel (Your data must have a date column).

2. Now drag and drop Order Date into Field.

3. A calendar dialog box opens When we click on the calendar icon. Here, we can change the date manually.

4. We can change the type sliding bar to the drop-down menu. To do this, select the slicer, then under the visualization panel, Select Format -> Slicer settings -> Options -> Style -> Dropdown.

On the left side, you can see the dropdown slicer. Check the screenshot below.

We also can select from options such as Vertical list, Tile, Between, Before, After, Dropdown, Relative Date, and Relative Time.

This way, we can create a date slicer in Power BI Desktop.

Numeric Range Slicer in Power BI

In the same way as the date slicer, when we use a numeric field to create a slicer, a numeric range slicer is created.

To create a numeric slicer, follow the below steps:

1. Select Slicer under the Visualization panel and drag and drop the numeric column into the visual. Here, I dragged and dropped Quantity into Field.

This way, you can create a numeric range slicer in Power BI.

How to Use the Slicer in Power BI Report

We previously created the date slicer using this date slice and two other visuals. We see how to use the slice in a Power BI

1. I created a column chart displaying the “Sum of Sale by Category.” The X-axis contains the Category, and the Y-axis contains the Sum of Sales.

2. I also created a Table visual containing columns like Sub-Catagory, Sales, and Profit.

3. Now, our report looks like this screenshot below.

4. Now select a date in the dropdown slicer.

When selecting a date in the date slicer, the table and column chart changed.

In this way, we use a slicer in Power BI Report.

Power BI Slicer Multiple Selections

In Power BI, a slicer is a visual element that allows users to filter data in a report. Multiple Selections in the context of a Power BI slicer means that users can choose more than one option simultaneously.

Example:

We have a slicer (Product) and select multiple options such as Amarilla, Montana, etc. Now, the Power BI table has been filtered based on the multiple selections of the slicer, as shown in the screenshot below.

How to Select Multiple Values in Power BI Slicer

Now, I will tell you how to create and use the Power BI slicer with Multiple selections in the Power BI Report.

In this example, I will use the SharePoint list (Financial Sample) data shown in the screenshot below.

1. Open the Power BI Desktop and load data using the Get data option.

2. Under the Visualization panel, select Slicer.

3. Drag and drop the Segment into the slicer Field.

To help in filtering any data in the Slicer visual, I now want to add a Table visual. The Table visual will be updated to reflect the modifications.

4. Under the visualization panel, select Table Visual, then drag and drop Product, Units Sold, Sales Price, Sales, and Profit into the Columns field.

5. Now, To select Multiple selections from the slicer visual, select the slicer visual -> Format your visual -> Visual -> Slicer settings -> Selections. Enable Multi-select with CTRL and Make sure the single select is disabled.

6. To select multiple selections, click “Ctrl + click.” you want to apply a filter from the slicer selections.

Here, I select Enterprise and Midmarket from the slicer selection, and then you can see the table visual change accordingly.

In this way, you create and use the Power BI slicer with Multiple selections in Power BI Desktop.

Power BI Slicer Multi-Select Without Ctrl

I will tell you how to create a multi-select Power BI slicer without ctrl on the desktop.

1. Open the Power BI Desktop and load data, then under the visualization panel, select Slicer Visual.

2. Drag and drop the Product into the slicer Field.

Now, I want to add a Table visual, which will help when I filter any values in the Slicer visual. The changes will be reflected in the Table visual.

3. Under the visualization panel, select Table Visual, then drag and drop Product, Units Sold, Sales Price, Sales, and Profit into the Columns field.

4. Now select the slicer visual -> Format your visual -> Visual -> Slicer settings -> Selections -> Turn off the Single selection and turn off the Multi-select with CTRL.

5. Now, we can select multiple values without using the ctrl key selection in the Power BI slicer.

In this way, you create and use the Power BI slicer with Multiple selections without ctrl in Power BI Desktop.

How to Disable Multiple Selections in Power BI Slicer

I will explain how to disable multiple selections in the Power BI slicer.

In the above example (Power BI Slicer Multi-Select without Ctrl), select the slicer visual -> Format your visual -> Visual -> Slicer settings -> Selections -> turn on the Single select.

Now, the slicer allows the selection of only a single value. Attempting to select multiple values is restricted.

In this process, you can disable multiple selections in Power BI Slicer.

How to Set Default Slicer Value in Power BI

Setting a default slicer value in Power BI means choosing a predefined filter option that automatically appears when you open a report in Power BI.

Here, I have a SharePoint list (Employee Leave List) that I used for this Power BI Report.

I will show you how to set the default value in the Power BI slicer.

1. Open Power BI Desktop and load data using the Get data option. Then, we can see the data set in the Data Panel.

2. Under the Visualizations panel, click the Slicer visual. Then, drag and drop the StartDate into the Slicer Field.

3. Then go to Format your visual pane -> Click Visual -> Click Slicer settings -> select Selection -> turn on Single select.

4. Now, choose an item from the dropdown of the slicer. It will appear as the default value on that visual, as shown in the screenshot below:

This way, you can set a default date for Power BI Slicer.

Set Default Slicer Current Month in Power BI

Now we see how to show a current month as a default value in Power BI Slicer.

1. Open the Power BI Desktop and load data using the Get data option. Then, under the Home tab, click Transform data.

2. Then in the Power query editor page, go to Add column -> Custom column.

A Custom Column page will appear. We have to give the name and put the formula below, then click OK:

Date.MonthName( DateTime.LocalNow() )   

3. Now, you can see that one column (CurrentMonth) has been added. In my case, the row shows ‘December,’ corresponding to my local system date. Check the screenshot below.

4. Click on the Home tab -> select Close & Apply. Then, in the Visualizations panel, click on ‘Slicer’ and drag ‘CurrentMonth’ into the slicer.

In this way, you can set the current month as the default value in a Power BI Slicer.

Set Default Slicer Current Date and time in Power BI

Now, let’s explore how to set the default slicer to the current date and time in Power BI

1. Open the report View under the Home tab ->click Transform Data

2. Then in the Power query editor page, go to Add column -> Custom column.

A Custom Column page will appear. We have to give the name and put the formula below, then click OK:

DateTime.LocalNow()

Now you see a new column(i.e., Current Date & Time) added to the data model.

3. Click on the Home tab -> select Close & Apply. Then, click ‘Slicer’ in the Visualizations panel and drag the Current Date & Time into the slicer.

4. Go to Format your visual  -> click Visual -> click Slicer settings -> click Selection -> turn on Single select.

You can do Power BI Slicer default value Current Date time.

Power BI Hierarchy Slicer Multiple Selections

Now, I will tell you how to create a Power BI hierarchy slicer with multiple selections in simple steps.

In this example, we will create a hierarchy slicer consisting of a Product Name and Segment. We will filter multiple data sets by making multiple selections within the hierarchy slicer.

1. Open Power BI Desktop, load the data using the ‘Get Data’ option, and you will be able to view the data in the Data panel.

2. Under the Visualizations panel, select Slicer and drag Product and Segment into the Slicer field.

3. Under the visualization panel, select Table Visual, then drag and drop Product, Units Sold, Sales Price, Sales, and Profit into the Columns field.

4. Select the values you want to filter from the hierarchy slicer selections.

In this way, you can Power BI Hierarchy Slicer Multiple Selections.

Power BI Slicer Formatting

After creating and using the slicer in Power BI, we can also use various formatting options in the slicer to make it more attractive.

Here are two types of Formatting in the slicer visualizations, i.e., visual formatting and general formatting.

The table below shows the formatting option names and their resulting images for reference.

Visual	General
1. Slicer setting	1. Properties
2. Slicer header	2. Title
3. Value	3. Effects
4. Slider	4. Header icons
	5. Alt text

Power BI Filter Measure by Slicer

In this example, we will see how to filter measures by slicer in Power BI.

Suppose you have a Power BI table named “Sales Data” with three columns: Customer, Sales (2022), and Sales (2023). and you want to compare the sales values this year and the previous year.

To do this, follow the below steps:

1. Open Power BI Desktop. Under the Home tab, click Enter Data.

2. In the Create Table dialog box, create the below table.

3. Under the Home tab, click on the New measure.

4. In the formula bar, use the expression below to compare the sales value. Then click Commit.

Sales Status = 
Var Sales_2022 = SUM('Sales Data'[Sales(2022)])
Var Sales_2023 = SUM('Sales Data'[Sales(2023)])
RETURN
    SWITCH(
        TRUE(),
        Sales_2022 = 0 && Sales_2023 <> 0,"New Customer",
        Sales_2022 < Sales_2023,"Increased Sales",
        Sales_2022 > Sales_2023,"Decreased Sales",
        "No Change")

Where:

• Sales Status = Name of the Measure
• Sales Data = Name of the Table
• Sales(2022),Sales(2023) = Columns Name
• SWITCH = DAX Function

5. Then you see the Data pane Sales Status created. Under the Visualizations pane, click on the Table visual and drag Customer, Sales(2022), Sales(2023), and Sales Status in the Column field.

Here, we can not add measure to the slicer, but we can do it another way. To do this, follow the below steps.

1. Under the Home tab, click Enter Data.

2. In the Create Table dialog box, create the table below.

3. Goto Table view -> select Selection column -> under the Column tools tab, click Sort by column -> select Order.

4. Under the Visualizations pane, click on the Slicer visual and drag Selection into Field.

When selecting any item in the slicer, you see it not change in the table visual, but we can do it with the help of a filter. To do this, follow the below steps.

1. Under the Home tab, click on the New measure.

2. In the formula bar, put the below expression. Then click Commit.

Filter Status = 
VAR Current_Selection = SELECTEDVALUE('Sales Class'[Selection])
Var Current_Class = [Sales Status]
RETURN
    SWITCH(
        TRUE(),
        Current_Selection ="New Customer" && Current_Class = "New Customer",1,
        Current_Selection ="Decreased Sales" && Current_Class = "Decreased Sales",1,
        Current_Selection ="Increased Sales" && Current_Class = "Increased Sales",1,
        Current_Selection ="No Change" && Current_Class = "No Change",1,
        Current_Selection ="All Customer",1,
        0
        )

3. Select the Table visual -> Expand Filters pane -> Drag Filter Status into Filter on this visual -> select Show items when the value is as is -> In the value field, put 1 -> click Apply filter.

4. Now, the slicer works on the table visually. Lets you want to see only Increased Sales. Click Increased Sales in the slicer.

5. if you want to see All Customer sales status, click All Customer in the Power BI slicer.

This is how to use this measure in a Power BI.

Advantages of Power BI Slicer

• Power BI slicers make filtering data in our reports simple. Just click to choose what you want to see.
• They provide a fast way to analyze and focus on specific details without complex commands.
• Slicers are improving the overall experience of interacting with our data.

Limitations of Power BI Slicer

• Each slicer can filter data based on a single field only.
• We can’t pin a slicer to a dashboard in Power BI Service.
• Slicer can’t support drill mode on the Power BI Desktop.
• Range slicers don’t support selecting multiple ranges selection.

How to Add Search Bar to Slicer in Power BI

Suppose we have a list of cities in a slicer and want to focus on a particular city (New York). In such cases, the search bar becomes useful.

Here is the SharePoint list and the data type I use for this example. See the screenshot below:

Now, we will see how to add a search bar to the slicer in Power BI in Simple steps.

1. Open Power BI Desktop and load the data using the Get data option. Then, we can see the data set in the Data Panel.

2. Under the Visualizations panel, click the Slicer visual.

3. Then drag and drop the city into Slicer Field.

Now, we add a Map, which will help when we filter any values in a Slicer visual. The changes will be reflected in the Map.

4. Under the Visualizations panel, click the map visual. Then drag City into the Location field, Product into the Legend field, and Price into the Bubble size field.

5. Now, we add a search bar to the slicer. To do this, select the Slicer -> top of visual, click 3 dot(…) -> Select Search option.

Also, we can add a search box to the slicer by clicking “ctrl+f.”

6. We can see a search bar added to the slicer visual.

This way, you can add a search box to the Power BI Slicer visual.

How to Remove Search Bar in Power BI Slicer

Now we see how to remove the search bar from the slicer in Power BI.

1. I how you follow the above 6 steps to add a search bar to the slicer in Power BI.

2. Then select the Slicer -> click the 3 dots(…) -> click Search.

Also, we can remove a search box from the slicer by clicking “ctrl+f.”

3. Now, you can see the search box removed from the Slicer.

You can remove the search box from Power BI Slicer Visual in these steps.

How to Sort Slicer in Power BI

When we create a Power BI Slicer, you must see, by default, that it is sorted by ascending order, but we can change it in simple steps.

The screenshot below represents a SharePoint list [Financial Sample] that I used for this Power BI Slicer.

Now, we will see how to sort the slicer in Power BI in simple steps.

1. Open Power BI Desktop and load the data using the Get data option. Then, we can see the data set in the Data Panel.

2. Under the Visualizations panel, click the Slicer visual.

3. Then drag and drop the Product into the Slicer Field.

4. Select the slicer and select the 3 dots (…) in the top right corner -> click Sort axis -> click Sort descending.

This way, you can sort the slicer in descending/ascending order in Power BI.

How the Sort Slicer Value is Based on the Numeric Value in Power BI

Now, let’s create a numeric value slicer and explore how the slicer values are sorted based on the numeric value in the Power BI Report

1. Under the Visualizations panel, click the Slicer visual.

2. Then drag and drop the Sales into the Slicer Field.

3. Select Slicer -> click Format your visual -> click Visual -> click Slicer settings -> In the drop-down, select Vertical list.

4. Select the slicer and select the 3 dots (…) in the top right corner -> click Sort axis -> click Sort descending.

This way, you can sort numeric value slicer in descending or ascending order in Power BI.

Sync Slicers in Power BI

A Sync Slicer is like a teamwork tool in Power BI. It enables you to link several slicers in various sections of your report so that, upon selecting one, the remaining slicers will instantly adopt the same value. To put it another way, they act similarly.

For example:

In Power BI, We have two same slicers (Segment) and two same tables. When I select a value (Consumer) from one slicer, the other slicer automatically selects Consumer.

Similarly, when a user selects any value from the Power BI slicer, all the visuals [on the same page] will filter accordingly as per the user selection.

This SharePoint list is connected to the Power BI desktop. You can see the Sharepoint list screenshot below.

How to Sync Slicers in Power BI

Now, I will tell you how to create a sync slicer in Power BI in simple steps:

1. Open Power BI Desktop and load data using the Get data options, then the data set shows in the Data panel.

2. I want to create two slicers with the same value here. To do this, under the Visualization panel, click on Slicer and then drag Country into the Slicer. Again, make a duplicate slicer using ctrl+c and ctrl+v on the same page.

3. Select the View tab and click Sync slicers.

4. In the middle of the Visualizations and Filter panels, the Sync slicer pane gets created in the Power BI Desktop.

5. When you select a slicer, you can see some properties and advanced options on the right side of the Sync slicer panel. Check in the screenshot below.

6. Next, check the sync option for the Page 1. Then you can see the Advanced options automatically take the group name as Country.

7. Then select another slicer -> check the Sync option. In the Advanced options, automatically take the group name as Country 1, then give the group name as Country.

8. Once you sync the slicers, select the data from the slicer, and you will see another slicer automatically select this same data. In my case, I am selecting France; then another slicer automatically selects France.

In this way, we can Sync Slicers in Power BI.

How to Sync a Slicer Across Multiple Pages in Power BI

Here, I will tell you how to sync a slicer across multiple pages in Power BI.

I have a Sharepoint list (Supermart) with Order Date, Customer Name, Segment, State, Product Name, Sales, Profit, and Quantity(with different data types). Check out the screenshot below.

Using this SharePoint List, I have created two Power BI reports, namely Page 1 and Page 2.

Page 1 contains a column chart, a slicer, a pie chart, a donut chart, and a table visual. Check the screenshot below.

Page 2 consists of the same slicer, one map, one table visual, and one bar chart. Check the screenshot below.

In this scenario, we must sync slicers, enabling more effective analysis. This means that when you filter using one slicer, Pages 1 and 2 will be filtered accordingly.

Now I will tell you how to achieve our requirements in simple steps.

1. Now, I hope you created a two-page report.

2. Select the Slicer (Order Date) -> View tab -> click Sync Slicers.

3. In the Sync slicer panel, under the sync icon, check the box, expand the Advanced option, and provide the group name. In my case, I am given the name Order Date.

4. Now, our sync slicers across multiple pages are completed. To check this, you can filter the pages in the report, so, in my case, I selected 12/05/2016 in the Page 1 Slicer.

5. Page 2 automatically filtered. Check in the screenshot below.

In this process, you can sync a slicer across multiple pages in Power BI.

How to Sort Month Names in Power BI Slicer

Sorting month names in a Power BI slicer can be helpful for organizing data in chronological order. Now, let’s see how to sort month names in a Power BI slicer.

Scenario:

You have sales data for different months. Sorting the months in the slicer allows you to easily select and analyze data for specific months, making it simpler to understand trends and patterns over time.

According to this scenario, we have a SharePoint list named Financial Sample that contains the following columns with various data types:

Follow the below steps to sort month names in the Power BI slicer:

1. Open Power BI Desktop and load data using the Get data option. Then, we can see the data set in the Data Panel.

2. Under the Home tab, expand Visual gallery (black box) -> Click the Slicer visual.

3. Then, use the +Add data option to add the Month Name into the Field.

4. Select the slicer and select the three dots (…) in the top right corner -> click Sort axis -> click Sort descending.

This way, you can sort the months in descending/ascending order in a Power BI slicer.

Power BI Sort Month Name Chronologically in Slicer

Now, let’s see how to sort months in chronological order in the Power BI slicer.

Scenario:

You are analyzing sales data in Power BI and want to use a slicer to filter sales by month. By sorting the month names chronologically in the slicer, you can help users quickly find and select specific months, making it easier to track sales trends over time.

I hope you have loaded the data and are ready to follow the steps below to sort month names chronologically in a Power BI slicer.

To sort month names chronologically in a Power BI slicer, we’ll need to arrange custom orders within the Power BI slicer. To do this, follow the below steps:

1. Under the Home tab, click Enter data.

2. After that, you will see a window (Create Table) where you can use the ‘+’ symbols to add new columns and rows. Next, input the data into the table. Once you’ve added the necessary data, give a name to the table (Custom List), and finally, click on the “Load” button.

3. After that, go to Table view -> Select Month column -> Click on Sort by column from the top ribbon -> Select Month Number.

4. Click on Model view -> Manage relationships from the top ribbon.

5. In the “Create relationship” dialog box, select the original table and choose the column you want to sort, which in my case is Month Name. Ensure the “Cardinality” is set to Many to One, then click OK.

6. Goto Repoet view, under the Home tab, expand Visual gallery (black box) -> Click the Slicer visual.

7. Then, use the +Add data option to add the Month into the Field. Check the screenshot below.

8. After that, the month name is sorted chronologically in the Power BI slicer.

This way, you can easily sort chronologically in the Power BI slicer.

Power BI Sort Slicer By Quarter Name

Here, I will demonstrate how to sort the slicer by quarter name in Power BI.

For this example, we have a SharePoint list named Employee Leave List that contains the following columns with various data types:

Follow the below steps to sort the slicer by quarter name in Power BI.

1. Open Power BI Desktop and load data using the Get data option. Then, we can see the data set in the Data Panel.

2. Under the Home tab, expand Visual gallery (black box) -> Click the Slicer visual. Then, use the +Add data option to add the StartDate into the Field.

If you observe, the quarter name is not present in the dataset. Therefore, we’ll create a calculated new column that calculates the quarter name, and then we’ll sort this quarter name.

3. Select Table view -> Click New column.

4. Then, in the formula bar, input the following formula:

QuarterName = 'Employee Leave List'[StartDate].[Quarter]

Where:

• QuarterName = This is the name given to a new column we create in our dataset.
• ‘Employee Leave List‘ = This refers to the table from which we are retrieving the data.
• [StartDate] = This refers to a column in our dataset.
• [Quarter] = It calculates the quarter for each date in the “StartDate” column and stores it in the new “QuarterName” column.

5. Under the Home tab, expand Visual gallery (black box) -> Click the Slicer visual. Then, use the +Add data option to add the QuarterName into the Field.

6. To sort the quarter, select the Slicer -> Click 3 dots(…) -> Sot axis -> Sort descending

This method allows you to sort the slicer by quarter name in Power BI.

Conclusion

We learned all about Power BI Slicer from this above Power BI tutorial. We discussed what a slicer is, how to add a slicer in Power BI, and explored Date Slicer and Number Slicer.

Also, we learned how to use the slicer and Power BI Slicer Formatting, the advantages of the Power BI Slicer, and discussed the limitations of the Power BI slicer.

Additionally, you may like some more Power BI tutorials:

• How to Export Power BI to Excel
• Power BI Stacked Bar Chart Sorted by Value
• Combine Two Tables in Power BI
• Create a Table in Power BI

Preeti Sahu

Preeti Sahu is an expert in Power Apps and has over six years of experience working with SharePoint Online and the Power Platform. She is the co-author of Microsoft Power Platform: A Deep Dive book. As a Power Platform developer, she has worked on developing various tools using Power Apps and Power Automate. She also makes Microsoft 365 videos and shares them on YouTube.