Selection on one slicer preserved when another slicer is selected

[karimm]

Hi All

I have 2 slicers where one is interacting with the other.

1. Project/Release slicer has 3 dimensions: Project, Active/Inactive, Release

2. Active Only single option slicer that displays a single checkbox

I'm having a UX problem described in the image below (the squared shared are for hiding values).

When both Active and Inactive values are selected on first slicer and then "ACtive only" checkbox is selected, reopening the first slicer, will still show Inactive as selected.

This is not causing problems in the calculations but rather might confuse the inexperienced user.

Is there a way to make powerbi "refresh" the selections displayed once a value in another slicer is selected?

[SamWiseOwl]

Hi @karimm 

I have had a similar issue before and the only way I could solve it was using Bookmarks.
So instead of have a slicer that ticks Active, I had a button named Active that reset the slicer to tick all the Active items.

The issue then is not know what the originally had ticked 😕

Daft question but could you not Have your Active column before your Project in the slicer?

That way they tick Active, Inactive or Select All at the start of each slicer.

[karimm]

Thank you for your answer and sorry about the delay.

Yes, I though 1 of 2 compromises... either have it like now or use bookmarks but then suffer from resetting the selections...

Regarding having the Active/Inactive as the top of the hierarchy, I don't think that's improving things, as users will need to scroll a lot between the 2 nodes to find their relevant releases.

[v-aatheeque]

Hi @karimm ,

Thanks for clarifying your perspective! would you be able to share a sample PBIX file (without any sensitive data)? That will help me try to fix the issue on my side and explore if there’s a workaround we can apply.

[karimm]

Hi @v-aatheeque 

I think this is a general problem when working with multiple slicer that have a kind of hierarchy between them, where one is the main and the other is dependent.

I have created a sample file and uploaded to my Google Drive.

Here is the link: Sample file 

How to reproduce the issue:
1. select a and b in the dependent slicer

2. select only a in main slicer

  now only a is relevant in dependent slicer

3. open dependent slicer and you'll see that b is showing and still selected.

[v-aatheeque]

Hi @karimm 

Thanks for sharing the sample file and clear steps to reproduce.
Just to confirm ,is your expectation that when the main slicer changes, any invalid selections in the dependent slicer (like “b” in your example) should automatically clear out? Or are you mainly looking for a way to hide/remove those irrelevant items from being displayed while still keeping the slicer selection?

[karimm]

You are most welcome. 

Good question...

I think it would be better to keep the selection but just remove the display of those irrelevant entries. 

[v-aatheeque]

Hi @karimm 
Thanks for clarifying.
In that case, what you’re looking for is achievable by restructuring the model so that the dependent slicer is filtered directly by the main slicer’s context.

In this scenario create a table :

MainTable = DISTINCT ( 'Main Slicer'[Column2] )

Then Create a relationship between MainTable[Column2] - Table[Column1].

• When you pick a in the main slicer, only a shows in the dependent slicer, and irrelevant items like b are hidden while keeping the selection valid.
  
  

I’ve also attached a sample file to illustrate this approach.
Hope this helps!

Thank You.

[karimm]

Hello @v-aatheeque 

Thanks for sending the file. I checked it and still see the issue.

1. start your slicing in the dependent slicer first (like selecting a and b)

2. go to main slicer and select a only

3. open dependent slicer

Result: b will show as selected even though it's irrelevant

[v-aatheeque]

Hi @karimm 

1. start your slicing in the dependent slicer first (like selecting a and b)

2. go to main slicer and select a only

3. open dependent slicer

4. Clear the filter for dependent slicer. it should show you the expected results.

Expected output : 

adding the 4th step should get you the expected results.

check with the attached sample data as below .

[karimm]

Hello,

Thanks for the reply. I know about this 4th step since I'm a PowerBI developer, but I believe the average user won't.

The whole point is that this 4th step is problematic UX wise since it's very confusing for the user.

Here we are looking at a simple example of few values and both of us know the small data set.

However, in a real life scenario where there a lots of values in the slicers and/or the user doesn't know anything about the relationship of the data, when the user opens the dependent slicer and sees both a and b, he/she might think that b is still relevant.

That's why I believe PowerBI should apply the 4th step automatically.

[v-aatheeque]

Hi @karimm 

Thank you for sharing your detailed feedback. I completely understand your concern—this can definitely become complex and confusing for end users when working with larger datasets.

Currently, Power BI does not have the capability to automatically clear dependent slicer selections, so the manual step is required. Since this would be a valuable enhancement, I’d kindly recommend submitting it as a feature request through the Power BI Feedback portal so that our product team can review and consider it for future updates.
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[v-aatheeque]

Hi @karimm 

We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if your query was answered,

Otherwise, will respond back with the more details and we will try to help .

[v-aatheeque]

Hi @karimm ,

Just a quick reminder that the @SamWiseOwl has already addressed your query regarding slicer interactions and UI behavior in Power BI.

• The issue you’re seeing is more of a UX limitation, not a calculation issue.

• As a workaround, suggested using Bookmarks tied to a button (e.g., "Active Only") to reset the slicer to display only Active items.

• Additionally, rearranging the slicer by placing the Active column before Project could improve clarity when making selections.

Let us know if you need further help implementing the suggested approach or if you’re exploring an alternative method.

Happy to assist further!

[v-aatheeque]

Hello @karimm 
Just a friendly reminder that @SamWiseOwl  has already responded to your question about slicer interaction and UI behavior in Power BI.

The behavior you're encountering is a user experience limitation, rather than a data or calculation issue.

As a workaround, it was suggested to use a Bookmark tied to a button (like “Active Only”) to help reset the slicer view effectively.

Also, reordering the slicer fields placing the Active field before Project could make the interface more intuitive when selecting items.

If you’d like support implementing any of these suggestions or are considering a different approach, feel free to reach out we’re happy to assist!

[v-aatheeque]

Hi @karimm ,

Just a friendly reminder that @SamWiseOwl  has already responded to your question regarding slicer interaction and UI behavior in Power BI.

The behavior you're seeing is a user experience limitation, not a data or calculation issue.

As a workaround, it was suggested to use a Bookmark tied to a button (like “Active Only”) to effectively reset the slicer view.

Additionally, reordering the slicer fields placing the Active field before Project  may help make the interface more intuitive for users.

If you'd like any help implementing these suggestions or if you're exploring an alternative approach, feel free to reach out  we're happy to assist!

If we don’t hear back, we may close this thread in line with our community guidelines, but you’re always welcome to post a new query anytime.
Thank you for being part of the Microsoft Fabric Community!