Filter pane

Native configuration

Report-level, page-level and visual-level filters, and how they stack.

Working example

Employee records25 rows

Employee	Department	Status	Hours
Anna Visser	Operations	Approved	29.8 h
Bram Vos	Operations	Approved	30.0 h
Carla Jansen	Operations	Approved	35.8 h
Daan Mulder	Operations	Approved	37.3 h
Eva Dekker	Operations	Approved	37.0 h
Femke Smit	Operations	Approved	36.6 h
Gijs Peters	Operations	Approved	29.5 h
Hanna Bakker	Retail	Rejected	32.1 h
Ivo Bos	Retail	Approved	30.6 h
Julia de Vries	Retail	Rejected	38.0 h
Koen Meijer	Retail	Approved	35.0 h
Lotte Hendriks	Retail	Approved	39.7 h
Mees Visser	Retail	Approved	38.7 h
Nina Vos	Retail	Approved	39.9 h
Olaf Jansen	Finance	Rejected	35.8 h
Pien Mulder	Finance	Rejected	40.9 h
Quinn Dekker	Finance	Approved	40.6 h
Ruben Smit	Finance	Approved	29.2 h
Sanne Peters	IT	Rejected	35.2 h
Tim Bakker	IT	Rejected	37.0 h
Ursula Bos	IT	Rejected	29.2 h
Vera de Vries	IT	Pending	41.9 h
Anna Meijer	IT	Approved	37.1 h
Bram Hendriks	IT	Approved	31.1 h
Carla Visser	IT	Rejected	33.2 h

What it is

The filter pane exposes filters at three scopes. Report filters apply everywhere, page filters to one page, visual filters to one visual.

When to use it

For scoping context that users rarely change, or for hidden filters that define the report's data boundary.

Native Power BI capability

Yes — Filters pane with Report, Page and Visual sections; filters can be locked and hidden.

UX considerations

Decide what belongs in the pane versus on canvas as a slicer.
Slicers are for frequent choices; the pane is for scope and refinement.
Show the active filter context on canvas — users do not open the pane.

BI developer considerations

Lock structural filters so users cannot remove them.
Hide technical filters instead of leaving them visible and confusing.

QA considerations

Locked filters cannot be cleared.
Page filters do not leak into other pages.

Limitations

The pane's visual design is only partly themeable.
Hidden filters are still applied — document them for support.

HTML prototype note

This interactive HTML example simulates the native Power BI behaviour. It is not Power BI itself and should not be interpreted as an implementation of the Power BI rendering engine.

Designer ↔ BI developer handoff

UX designer defines

Information hierarchy and column order
Required fields and measures
Default state (sort, filters, selection)
Interaction intent and what it should affect
Responsive priority and what may be dropped
Accessibility expectations and focus order
Empty, loading and error states

BI developer implements

Dataset fields, measures and relationships
Visual configuration in the format pane
Filters, sort order and interaction wiring
Drill-through / drill-down configuration
Conditional formatting rules
Row-level security and permissions
Query performance optimisation

QA validates

Data correctness against the source
Correct default state on first load
Sorting and filtering behaviour
Drill and selection behaviour
Permissions and row-level security
Empty states and responsive layout
Performance and export behaviour