Slicers and Filter Pane
Slicers and filter panes expose interactive filter controls on a report page, allowing report consumers to narrow the data they see without changing the underlying output configuration. Use slicers when the report audience needs to explore the data (e.g., filter by discipline, contractor, or date range). For fixed-filter formal outputs intended to be locked before PDF export, apply report-level or page-level filters in the Filters Panel instead.
Slicer types
| Type | Description | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Dropdown | Single-value selection from a dropdown list. | Long value lists where space is limited. |
| List | All values shown as clickable items. | Short value lists (< 15 items). |
| Hierarchy | Multi-level expandable tree (e.g., WBS level 1 → Level 2 → Level 3). | Hierarchical data like WBS or location codes. |
| Date | Calendar picker for an exact date or date range. | Single date selection. |
| Relative date | Relative period selector (e.g., Last 7 days, This month, Last quarter). | Rolling period analysis. |
| Numeric range | Min–Max slider or dual input for a value range. | Filtering by cost, float, or duration bands. |
| Search | Free-text search box that filters rows containing the typed text. | Activity ID or name lookup. |
| Advanced filter | Multi-condition filter with AND/OR logic, operators, and field combinations. | Complex, multi-field filter requirements. |
| Checkbox | Multi-select list with check boxes. | Small to medium value lists needing multi-select. |
| Tile | Visual tile buttons, one per value. | Status codes, RAG categories, or priority levels. |
| Range (date) | Date range picker (start — end dates). | Filtering a period window. |
Selection modes
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Single select | Only one value may be active at a time. |
| Multiple select | Any number of values may be selected simultaneously. The filter uses OR logic across selected values. |
| Multiple with Select All | Same as multiple select, plus a "Select All" toggle. |
| Deferred apply | Selections are staged in the slicer without being applied until the user clicks an Apply button. Useful when changing multiple slicers simultaneously would cause slow updates. |
Scope: page vs. report-wide
| Scope | Description |
|---|---|
| Page | The slicer filter applies only to components on the current page. |
| Report | The slicer filter applies to all pages in the output that share the same data section. |
Set scope in Properties → Interaction → Filter scope.
Slicer appearance options
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Header text | Label shown above the slicer control. |
| Show / hide header | Toggle the label visibility. |
| Multi-column layout | For list and checkbox slicers, items can flow across N columns. |
| Default value | Pre-select one or more values when the page loads. |
| Clear button | Show a button that resets the slicer to no selection. |
| Search box | For list and checkbox slicers, add a search box inside the slicer to find values quickly. |
Cascading slicers (dependent parameters)
When a report uses parameters, slicers can be linked so that selecting a value in one slicer automatically narrows the available values in another:
- Example: selecting a Phase in slicer 1 narrows the Discipline options in slicer 2 to only disciplines present in that phase.
To configure cascading:
- In Properties → Parameter, link the slicer to a named parameter.
- In the dependent slicer, set its dataset filter to reference the parent parameter.
See Parameters and Calculated Fields for full parameter documentation.
Filter pane setup
The Filter Pane is a panel that groups multiple slicer-style controls in a collapsible side panel, keeping the main canvas cleaner:
- Insert a Filter Pane from the Insert menu.
- Add controls to the pane from the pane's properties.
- Set the pane to be open or collapsed by default.
The filter pane cannot be exported to PDF (it is an interactive element only). Apply report-level filters before exporting to PDF.
PDF export and slicers
For PDF export, the current slicer selection at export time is applied to the output. Best practice:
- Set the required slicer state before clicking Export.
- Or apply fixed report-level filters in the Filters Panel and remove the slicer from the page to avoid confusion.
Related
- Filters Panel — report and page level static filters
- Parameters and Calculated Fields — parameter-driven cascading
- Chart Component — charts that respond to slicer filters