Default slicer to work on "equal to" instead of contains for numerical values using search option

[Marico]

Hi,

I have a requirement from client where the data volume is very large and it's not possible to choose values from drop-down without searching.

The search option only works on contains condition and not "EQUAL TO" for numeric and text values. 

I am looking for a solution to filter the slicer values based on equal to condition.

For e.g. if the 46262 is searched then 462621, 462622, etc shouldn't appear in drop-down.

[v-ssriganesh]

Hello @Marico,

As per my knowledge power BI does may not support exact match filtering in slicer search. It only supports "contains" match. Please consider raising a Microsoft support ticket for further investigation.

You can create a Microsoft support ticket with the help of the link below:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/support/create-support-ticket

Best regards,
Ganesh Singamshetty

[v-ssriganesh]

Hello @Marico,

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. 

Thank you.

[rohit1991]

Hi @Marico ,

This “equal to” vs “contains” search on slicers is a classic Power BI head-scratcher, especially when your lists get huge. Here’s the real deal: Out of the box, Power BI only lets you search slicers using “contains” logic—doesn’t matter if it’s text or a number you converted to text. That’s just how the built-in slicer works, and yeah, it’s not ideal if you’re hunting for one specific value (e.g., 46262) in a giant dataset.

• If you convert your ID/number column to text, you get the search bar back, but it still uses “contains.” So searching for 46262 will pull up anything with those digits in it, not just an exact match.
  
  

• The new Text Slicer (still in preview) gives you a nicer input box, but the behavior is the same still “contains.”
  
  

• If you need a true “equals” filter, the only way is to set up a disconnected table or What-If parameter for user entry, then use a DAX measure to show only exact matches. It takes a little extra setup, but it’s the only way to force exact matches with large lists right now.

Right now, there’s no built-in slicer that searches by “exact equals” for numbers. All the current workarounds involve either living with “contains” or using a bit of DAX trickery. If Microsoft ever updates this, I’ll be first in line to try it!

If anyone wants a step-by-step on the DAX solution or a PBIX file, just shout. Always happy to share what’s worked for me on big client projects.

[Marico]

@rohit1991 Thanks a lot for you response and really appreaciate you sharing this explanation.

It would be great if you can share the PBIX file with step-by-step guidance for me to incorporate it in my actual large dataset.

Many thanks!

[Aburar_123]

Hi @Marico ,

This is a Power bi default behaviour so we can't customize it.

[danextian]

Hi Marico,

Duplicate your numerical column and change the data type to text and use the Text slicer.

Note: This visual is still in preview so you may have to enable it first.

[Marico]

@danextian  Tried the text slicer but this is also working based on "contains" and not "EQUAL TO".

[danextian]

My bad. I thought you wanted the opposite. 

You can create a what-if parameter table and link it to your fact table. The generated column only allows single-value selection, which works fine for smaller ranges. But if the range is too wide, it gets buggy—for example, I tested it with a range up to 10000, typed in 1000, and it snapped to 999. So this method is more reliable with smaller number ranges (see image below). Another option is to use a dropdown slicer instead. Just use the text version of the column so the search option can be enabled, and users can type and pick from the filtered results.

[Marico]

@danextian 

1. My actual data has values with 7 or 8 digits, so I guess option one won't work.
2. I am using a drop-down with text field only (for numeric values) but filtering for e.g. 46262 is giving 10-15 options in search results from which values to be selected.

Client wants exact value to appear and not the range. Is it possible?

[danextian]

Possible perhaps with some custom visuals but I dont think there's one that exists that can meet your requirements. 

Also, i tested the filtering with some dummy  performance settings set to shared (1G memory), and the filtering didn't take that long.

[Marico]

Thanks for all your efforts.

My current compressed dataset size is 3.3 GB and it is expected to increase further.