Types of Filters in Power BI
Filters are fundamental to Power BI — they control which data is displayed in visuals, pages, and entire reports. Understanding filter types and their scope is essential for building effective reports.
Filter Scopes
| Scope | Affects | Applied To |
|---|---|---|
| Visual-Level Filter | A single visual only | One chart, table, or card |
| Page-Level Filter | All visuals on a page | One report page |
| Report-Level Filter | All visuals across all pages | Entire report |
| Drill-Through Filter | Data on drill-through pages | Drill-through target pages |
1. Visual-Level Filters
Applied to a single visual only. Other visuals on the same page are not affected.
How to Apply:
- Select a visual on the canvas
- Open the Filters pane (right side)
- Under Filters on this visual, drag a field
- Configure the filter (Basic, Advanced, or Top N)
Use Cases: • Show only top 10 products in a bar chart • Filter a line chart to show data from the last 6 months • Exclude a specific category from one chart only
2. Page-Level Filters
Applied to all visuals on the current page. Every visual respects this filter.
How to Apply:
- Open the Filters pane
- Under Filters on this page, drag a field
- Configure the filter conditions
Use Cases: • Filter an entire page to show only "East" region data • Restrict a page to current year data only • Show data for a specific department across all charts on the page
3. Report-Level Filters
Applied to every visual on every page of the report. The most global filter scope.
How to Apply:
- Open the Filters pane
- Under Filters on all pages, drag a field
- Configure the filter conditions
Use Cases: • Filter entire report to show only active customers • Restrict data to a specific date range across all pages • Exclude test or internal data from the whole report
Filter Types (Within Each Scope)
| Filter Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Basic Filtering | Checkbox list — select/deselect values |
| Advanced Filtering | Conditions: contains, starts with, is blank, etc. |
| Top N Filtering | Show only Top/Bottom N items by a measure |
| Relative Date Filtering | Last N days/weeks/months/years from today |
Advanced Filter Options
"Is blank" / "Is not blank": • Filter for rows with or without values
"Contains" / "Does not contain": • Text-based filtering (e.g., product names containing "Pro")
Multiple Conditions: • AND: Both conditions must be true • OR: Either condition can be true
Filter Pane Visibility
You can control whether end users can see and interact with the filter pane:
Lock Filters: • Click the lock icon 🔒 on a filter to prevent users from changing it • The filter remains applied but users cannot modify its settings
Hide Filters: • Click the eye icon 👁️ on a filter to hide it from users • The filter remains active but invisible in the filter pane
Best Practices
• Use report-level filters for data governance (exclude test data, restrict date ranges) • Use page-level filters for page-specific context • Use visual-level filters for individual chart customization • Lock filters that should not be changed by users • Hide technical filters that users don't need to see • Prefer slicers over filters for user-facing interactivity