Explicit Measures Podcast 506: Mailbag! Filter Overload
Feb 26, 2026
They tackle filter overload in Power BI and debate whether many slicers help or harm report usability. They cover new Fabric features like APIs, notebooks, and authentication improvements. They explore using visuals as interactive filters, when cross-filtering suffices, and strategies like headers, filter panes, bookmarks, and prebaked views to reduce clutter.
AI Snips
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Episode notes
Paste Lists And Use Input Slicer To Reduce Clutter
- Power BI now supports pasting newline-separated lists into any slicer and the input (text) slicer is generally available.
- Mike highlights this reduces page clutter: one input slicer can perform contains/starts-with and replace custom visuals.
Limit Slicers And Put Key Filters In The Header
- Do keep slicers minimal and prioritize placing key filters in a header so they fit and remain visible.
- Mike and Tommy recommend 1–2 (or a few) header slicers for always-used filters and push everything else to the filter pane or bookmarks.
Use Visuals As Primary Interactive Filters
- Treat visuals themselves as interactive slicers so they both show data and allow selection to filter the page.
- Mike uses colored bar charts and consistent colors across visuals so selecting a bar acts as the primary filter and visual cue.