Input slicer: Filter reports and collect user input (Generally Available)

Report consumers can quickly filter the report to what they are looking for using the input slicer. If you’ve ever needed to filter a report by a specific order ID, customer name, or product code, the input slicer is designed for exactly that. Instead of selecting items one by one from a dropdown, you can type values directly or use partial text to find matching records.

Traditional slicers work well when you have a manageable number of categories to choose from. But what happens when you have hundreds of customers, thousands of order IDs, or you simply don’t know the exact value you’re looking for?

This post introduces the input slicer through a few representative scenarios to illustrate how it works and when it’s useful. The examples are meant to show common patterns and possibilities rather than exhaustively cover every configuration option.

The input slicer addresses these scenarios:

• Type multiple filter values: Enter order IDs, customer names, or product codes one at a time, pressing Enter after each to build your filter list.
• Search with partial matches: Type a few characters and use the “Contains” or “Starts with” operators to find records when you only remember part of a name.
• Collect free-form input: Use the visual without a data column to capture user input for translytical task flows, such as comments, approval notes, or values for data writebacks.

Getting started

To try the input slicer, you can create sample data in a blank report. Open Power BI Desktop, go to Modeling > New table, and enter the following DAX expression:

Sample Products =

DATATABLE(

"Product", STRING,

"Sales", INTEGER,

{

{"Apple", 150},

{"Banana", 200},

{"Cherry", 75},

{"Date", 50},

{"Elderberry", 125},

{"Fig", 90},

{"Grape", 180}

}

)

Sample Products =

Next, create a bar chart using the Product and Sales columns so you can see the filtering in action.

Step 1: Add the input slicer

Select the input slicer from the Visualizations pane. Then drag the Product column to the slicer’s Field well. The slicer displays an input box where you can type filter values.

Step 2: Type or paste values

Type a value like “a” in the input box and press Enter. The value appears as a pill, and your bar chart filters to show only products containing the letter “a” (Apple, Banana, Date, Grape).

Step 3: Choose a filter operator

Select the dropdown arrow on the slicer to choose how your entered values match the data. The following filter operators are available:

• Contains all: Records must contain all entered values
• Contains any: Records contain at least one entered value (default)
• Does not contain any: Excludes records with any entered value
• Starts with any: Records start with any entered value
• Does not start with any: Excludes records starting with any entered value
• Is any: Records exactly match any entered value
• Is not any: Excludes exact matches

For example, change the filter operator to Starts with any to only see values that start with the text you entered. Report creators set the initial operator, but consumers can change it at any time when viewing the report.

Step 4: Configure multiple values

By default, the slicer accepts multiple filter values. To allow only a single value, go to Format > Slicer settings > Options and turn off Accept multiple values.

To filter by multiple values, type another value and press Enter. Each value becomes its own pill, and the report filters to records matching any of the entered values.