Forum Discussion
Break out Multi-Select field into Slicer
The (2) images on the left are what the data looks like in the software that is being exported into MS BI.
MS BI is interpreting them as shown in the right image.
The Slicer for both the Category & Feature needs to be split as on the left image but MS BI is creating an entry for every unique selection as shown on the right.
When downloading either of these fields into .csv they appear separated by semi-colon.
Hello GabeFig,
Thanks for sharing the sample data.
I have reproduced your scenario using the sample data you shared and implemented the required filtering logic based on multi-valued Categories and Features columns (with delimiters like ;).
Output:- When “Application” is selected from the Categories slicer:
You will see only rows where “Application” is one of the multiple categories. - When “AI-Enabled” is selected from the Features slicer:
You will see only rows where “AI-Enabled” is one of the feature values.
For your reference, I’m attaching the .pbix file.
Best regards,
Ganesh Singamshetty- When “Application” is selected from the Categories slicer:
15 Replies
- Greg_Deckler
Community Champion
GabeFig Perhaps try creating a group column (right-click the column and choose "New group"). Group your values into your desired buckets and then use this new column in your slicer.
v-ssriganeshCommunity Support
Hello GabeFig,
Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Fabric Forum Community.
Power BI treats these fields as text strings when imported, rather than recognizing them as separate selectable items.To resolve this, you can use Power BI's "Split Column" feature to break the semicolon-separated values into rows. Here’s a general approach:
- Import the .csv file into Power BI and click on the Categories or Features column in the Power Query Editor.
- Go to the Home tab, click Split Column and choose By Delimiter and opt to split into rows (not columns) and Click OK and then Close & Apply to refresh the data model.
- Add slicers for the split Categories and Features columns.
If this information is helpful, please “Accept as solution” and give a "kudos" to assist other community members in resolving similar issues more efficiently.
Thank you.I went through your steps as well as refreshed but the data seems to be the same. I do not see any new columns to use in the Slicer.
Maybe this has to be rebuild rom scratch
- v-ssriganesh
Hello GabeFig,
Thanks for the follow-up.The issue might be due to the field being split into columns instead of rows, or possibly a modeling step was skipped. Let me walk you through the approach again, this time with clarity on creating a slicer-ready field:
- In Power BI, go to Transform Data to open Power Query Editor and Select your Categories column.
- From the top ribbon, click Split Column > By Delimiter and Choose delimiter: ; (semicolon) also note that in the dialog, select Split into Rows, not columns.
- Repeat the same for the Features column (if needed) and Click Close & Apply to update the data model.
- After applying changes, return to your Power BI report canvas and drag the now “flattened” Categories column into a slicer visual.
Best Regards,
Ganesh singamshetty.
- v-ssriganesh
Hello GabeFig,
Hope everything’s going great on your end! Just checking in has the issue been resolved, or are you still running into problems? Sharing an update can really help others facing the same thing.
Thank you.
Thank you & I apologize for not responding earlier as I was out a couple of days. I did not expect such quick response as this is my 1st time seeking help.
