Hello Team,
One of the current limitations of Power BI is that slicers can only be built from columns, while many business scenarios require slicing based on measure results.
Proposed Custom Visual
The visual would accept the following fields:
Grouping Column (e.g., AC_NO, Customer ID, Product ID)
Measure (returns the category/value to be displayed)
Tooltips (optional)
Internally, the visual would evaluate the measure for every unique value of the grouping column, generating a temporary table similar to:
Grouping Column Measure Result
| AC_001 | AAP |
| AC_002 | BJP |
| AC_003 | AAP |
| AC_004 | INC |
The slicer would then display only the distinct measure results:
AAP
BJP
INC
When a user selects AAP, the visual would filter all grouping values whose evaluated measure result is AAP, enabling native cross-filtering and interaction with other visuals.
Why This Matters
This approach enables a fully dynamic slicer where the available selections are determined by DAX measures rather than static columns. As report filters, slicers, or calculations change, the measure is re-evaluated and the slicer updates automatically.
Benefits
Supports dynamic, measure-driven slicers.
Eliminates the need for helper or calculated columns created only for filtering.
Works with complex business logic implemented in DAX.
Responds automatically to filter context.
Enables analytical scenarios that are not possible with native Power BI slicers.
This custom visual would close a long-standing gap in Power BI by allowing measures to act as slicer categories while preserving the native filtering experience.
The custom visual: MeasureSlicer
Thanks & Regards
Biswajit Das.
1 Comment
Gautam_Kumar01Post Partisan
BIswajit_Das : This is one of the most impactful ideas for Power BI BIswajit_Das The current limitation where slicers can only be bound to columns is a major roadblock for real-world analytics. Today we are forced to create multiple helper tables, calculated columns, or disconnected tables just to get dynamic segmentation. It makes the model heavy and hard to maintain. Your proposed "MeasureSlicer" custom visual solves this perfectly. How it would change our workflow : Right now for scenarios like ABC analysis, Sales Buckets, Customer Segments, Risk Categories, we have to pre-calculate everything in DAX and store it as a column. With a measure-driven slicer, the visual can evaluate the measure for each value of the Grouping Column at runtime and show only the distinct results. When we select one, it cross-filters all other visuals natively. Key Benefits: 1. Dynamic by nature : As report filters change, the slicer categories also update automatically. No static lists. 2. Cleaner data model : No need to create 10 extra columns just for slicing logic 3. Complex DAX support : Works with any measure logic - SWITCH, RANKX, time intelligence, etc. 4. True ad-hoc analysis : Business users can slice by KPIs directly without IT dependency This would close a long-standing gap between what business users ask for and what Power BI natively provides. Fully supporting and voted for this. Hoping the Fabric/Power BI team prioritizes it for the roadmap! Thanks for proposing this BIswajit_Das
