Power BI is a powerful business intelligence tool that turns raw data into informative reports and dashboards. One of its features is Filters, which allow users to sort, filter, or focus on specific data corresponding to indicated conditions. For example, if you have a dataset with sales data across different stores, you could filter the dataset by only sales from a particular store or product group. This filtering capability helps pull insights out of the data without the frustration of sorting through excess data. In this blog, you will examine how report-level filters work and why they are such a great capability in Power BI.
Table of Contents:
What are Report-Level Filters in Power BI?
In Power BI, Report-Level Filters are filters that are applied to the complete report rather than only a single page or visual. A report-level filter applies to all pages and visuals across the report to ensure that consistent data is filtered everywhere. It is important to distinguish report-level filters from visual-level filters, which only affect one visual, and page-level filters, which only affect one page. In this context, it is helpful to think of report-level filters as a global setting for the data that we want to display across the whole report, including consistency, ease of management, and analysis.
Benefits of Report-Level Filters in Power BI
- Consistent Filtering Through the Pages: You don’t need to set the same filter across different pages or visuals. One report-level filter setting covers your entire report. This can save time and reduce human error.
- Saves Time and Effort: When a report has lots of pages and visuals, adding filters to each one can be difficult. A report-level filter saves time by applying the same filter across the whole report at once.
- More Manageable Reports: More complex reports can feel uncontrolled. When you use report-level filters, you can keep the filters clean in one place. You can then use the filter given only to the visual when you need to.
- Improves Performance by Reducing Data Load: By filtering out unnecessary data, your visual will load faster with the help of a report-level filter.
- Improves Presentation and Readability: Filtering out unnecessary data improves both readability and presentation quality.
Visualize, Analyze, Succeed – Learn Power BI the right way!
Enroll now and get job-ready faster.
How to Apply Report-Level Filters in Power BI (Step-by-Step)
Let’s go through how to apply report-level filters step-by-step with an example.
Example Dataset:
Let us use a dataset to create a Pie chart.
Step 1: Load the Dataset into Power BI
| Category |
Sales Amount |
| Electronics |
35,000 |
| Clothing |
20,000 |
| Groceries |
15,000 |
| Furniture |
10,000 |
| Books |
5,000 |
Click Home > Get Data > Text/CSV
After following the steps, your data will be loaded into Power BI.
This is what your dataset will look like.
Step 2: In the Visualization Pane,
Click on the Pie Chart icon and drag the chart onto your canvas.
Step 3: Assign Data Fields
- Drag the Category to the legend field.
- Drag the Sales amount to the values field.
Explanation: This is how the pie chart looks once it is created, and it is used to compare the sales data across different categories.
Output:
Step 4: Duplicate The Visuals On a New Page
To demonstrate how report-level filters are applied across multiple pages:
- Right-click on Page 1 at the bottom of the screen.
- Select Duplicate Page.
This will create a Page 2 that has the same pie chart as Page 1.
Now you have 2 pages showing the same data.
This Page is a duplicate of Page 1.
Step 5: Apply a Basic Filter
Let’s add a report-level filter now.
- On the right side of Power BI, you will see Filters.
- Locate the Report Level Filters section.
- Drag the field that you would like to filter on (e.g., Product Category) into the Report Level Filters section.
Once you drag the field there:
- A filter window will appear.
- Select the value you wish to apply the filter to (for example, select only “Electronics”).
The data for “Electronics” will now appear in all of your visuals on all pages of your report.
You will see:
1. Page 1 shows only “Electronics” sales.
As you can see, after applying the filter, Page 1 shows “Electronics” sales.
2. Page 2 shows only “Electronics” sales.
The duplicate of Page 1 also shows ‘Electronics’ sales, confirming that the filter was applied globally.
Get 100% Hike!
Master Most in Demand Skills Now!
Conclusion
Report-level filters enable you to maintain a clean, organized, and focused Power BI report easily. Rather than manually adding the same filter to each visual or page, add a single report-level filter that controls everything, which is easy and saves your time and energy. Report-level filters minimize errors, allow your audience to digest information quickly, and focus on the most relevant information. Using report-level filtering is beneficial with small or large data sets. Essentially, it helps you create a smarter, faster, and far healthier report.
To learn more about Power BI and its functions, check out this Power BI Course and also explore Power BI Interview Questions prepared by industry experts.
Report-Level Filters in Power BI- FAQs
Q1. What is a Report-Level Filter in Power BI?
A report-level filter applies a filter to the entire report, meaning every page and every visual inside the report will show only the filtered data.
Q2. How is a Report-Level Filter different from a page-level filter?
A page-level filter affects only a specific page, while a report-level filter impacts all pages and visuals throughout the entire report.
Q3. Can I use multiple Report-Level Filters at once?
Yes, you can add and apply multiple filters at the report level to fine-tune the data across your full report
Q4. Do Report-Level Filters affect new pages which are added later?
Yes, any new pages you create will automatically be affected by the existing report-level filters unless you manually change them.
Q5. Can I remove a Report-Level Filter after applying it?
Yes, you can easily remove or modify a report-level filter by selecting it in the Filters pane and making adjustments or clearing it.