Clarification Required – Difference Between New “List Slicer” Visual vs Traditional “Slicer”

[Sreethar_14]

Hi Community,

Good day! I’m looking for some expert clarification on a visual behavior I’ve observed in Power BI, specifically after the recent updates that introduced the new “List Slicer” visual.

Here’s my detailed observation:

• I’ve taken a Normal Slicer visual and used it in List mode (checkbox or radio button based on selection type). It supports hierarchical fields as well.

• When I use the new “List Slicer” visual, it also displays the same hierarchical layout and interaction—even when I bind the same field.

• Visually and functionally, both slicers are behaving similarly (especially with hierarchy-enabled fields). I can even switch between these visuals, and the output remains the same in terms of user experience.

My key questions are:

1. What is the core difference between the  Slicer (used in List mode) and the new List Slicer visual introduced in recent updates?

2. Are there any performance improvements, customization options, or future-focused enhancements expected specifically for the new List Slicer?

3. Is Microsoft planning to deprecate or phase out the traditional slicer or unify them under the new slicer types?

4. When working with hierarchical data, both slicers support expansion and selection — is there any technical or back-end behavior that differentiates their implementation?

I’d like to understand this clearly so I can follow best practices and make the right choice when designing Power BI reports—especially in enterprise dashboards where consistency and optimization are important.

Screenshots for reference:

• 1st screenshot:  New List Slicer

• 2nd screenshot:  Slicer in Vertical Mode

I would greatly appreciate your professional input and clarification from the Fabric Community on this!

Best regards,
Sreethar M B
Power BI Developer | Data Analyst

[v-prasare]

Hi, We are following up once again regarding your query. Could you please confirm if the issue has been resolved through the support ticket with Microsoft?

If the issue has been resolved, we kindly request you to share the resolution or key insights here to help others in the community. If we don’t hear back, we’ll go ahead and close this thread.

Should you need further assistance in the future, we encourage you to reach out via the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum. We’ll be happy to help.

Thank you for your understanding and participation.

[v-prasare · Accepted solution]

Hi @Sreethar_14, 

@Ritaf1983, Thanks for your prompt resposnse 

Feedback submitted here is often reviewed by the product teams and can lead to meaningful improvement.

I’d encourage you to submit your detailed feedback and ideas via Microsoft's official feedback channels, such as the Microsoft Fabric Ideas

Thanks,

Prashanth Are

MS Fabric community support

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly and give Kudos if helped you resolve your query

[Ritaf1983]

Hi @Sreethar_14 

The differences between the traditional slicer (in List mode) and the new List Slicer are not performance-related but mostly about UX/UI improvements.

The new List Slicer includes enhanced visual design capabilities:

• A more modern default look

• Visual states like pressed or selected

• Rounded corners

• Better theme and formatting integration

Functionally, both slicers behave the same, especially with hierarchical fields. But if visual consistency, user experience, or modern design are priorities, the new List Slicer offers more flexibility.

More information about the new list slicer is in the linked video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSn08LiATGo

If this post helps, then please consider Accepting it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

[sasdfasdfsad]

The new list slicer also appears to hide ragged hierarchies when the following hiearchy levels are blank or ''.

The original drop down slicer was unable to do this.

HOWEVER, the new list slicer can't function in drop down mode (as mentioned earlier) which is a SUBTANTIAL limiting factor of its usefulness.

[Sreethar_14]

Hi @Rita Fainshtein,

Thank you for the detailed explanation and the video reference regarding the new List Slicer. I understand that the new List Slicer introduces UI/UX improvements like a modern look, rounded corners, and better theme integration, which are helpful from a design perspective.

However, from a functional and practical usage standpoint, I would like to share my observations and raise a few points for further clarity:

• Both the traditional slicer (in list mode) and the new List Slicer appear to provide the same core functionality when it comes to filtering and selection behavior, including single or multi-select.

• The traditional slicer supports both dropdown and vertical list layouts, while the new List Slicer is currently limited to the list view only.

• The visual difference between the two lies mainly in the UI: the traditional slicer uses square checkboxes, whereas the List Slicer uses circular radio buttons for single select.

• In terms of space usage, the new List Slicer generally occupies more space, which may be a limiting factor when designing space-efficient dashboards.

• To me, while the List Slicer offers improved aesthetics, there doesn’t seem to be a significant functional advantage or new capability over the existing slicer visual.

In this context, my question is:
Are there any future enhancements planned that would bring functional differences to the List Slicer, or is it primarily a visual/formatting improvement?

I appreciate your insights on this and look forward to learning more from the community’s experience.

Best regards,
Sreethar
Power BI Developer | Data Analyst