How to Pin Slicer in Power BI Dashboard

Building an interactive Power BI report is one thing, but getting that same interactivity onto a dashboard can feel surprisingly tricky. If you've ever tried to pin a slicer to a Power BI dashboard, you've probably hit a wall and wondered what you're doing wrong. You click the pin icon on your visual, but the slicer that makes it so useful gets left behind. This guide will walk you through exactly why that happens and show you the clean, simple method to get fully functional slicers on your dashboards.

Understanding the Role of a Slicer

Before we fix the problem, let's quickly clarify what a slicer is and why it's so important. In Power BI, a slicer is an on-canvas filter that allows you or your end-users to segment and filter report data with a single click. Instead of diving into the Filters pane, slicers provide an intuitive, visible way to explore the data.

For example, imagine a sales report with a bar chart showing revenue by product. You could add slicers for:

• Time Period: Let users choose to see data from "Last 30 Days," "This Quarter," or a custom date range.
• Region: Allow filtering by "North America," "Europe," or "Asia."
• Sales Representative: Let managers view performance for specific team members.

Slicers transform a static report into an interactive visual that answers questions on the fly, making your data much more accessible for everyone on your team.

Why Can’t You Just Pin a Slicer? The Dashboard vs. Report Distinction

The main source of confusion comes from the fundamental difference between Power BI reports and dashboards.

A Power BI Report is a multi-page interactive canvas designed for deep-dive analysis. Here, visuals on the same page are all interconnected. Clicking one visual can cross-filter others, and slicers affect every related visual element on that page.

A Power BI Dashboard, on the other hand, is a single-page highlight reel. It’s designed to provide a high-level, at-a-glance overview of your most important metrics (KPIs). Each tile on a dashboard is a snapshot of an underlying report. When you pin a visual from a report to a dashboard, you're essentially bookmarking that specific chart with its current filters applied.

You aren’t really pinning from the Report to the Dashboard live. You are just taking a snippet, or a piece, without keeping its interaction feature. The dashboard tile acts more like a static image or a link back to the report. An interactive slicer wouldn’t have a function here, meaning Power BI cannot carry over a fully-functional element.

This Leaves You with 2 Options

Option 1 - Pinning Visuals with Slicer Settings Selected (Not Recommended)

When any of the specified slicer settings are selected on a Power BI query and the supporting visual is pinned to the dashboard, the visual tile on the dashboard will have those filters applied. However, the pin won't dynamically adjust when it gets reselected - requiring you to re-pin to update any changes.

While this feature works on a basic single level, it may create issues at scale in an organization.

Option 2: Pin a Live Report Page (Highly Recommended)

The easiest path to an updated dashboard is to pin the entire report page as a live tile. This will update your page by creating a new version every time a refresh happens. Let's show you how to do that in four easy steps:

The Best Method: Pinning an Entire Live Report Page

This solution brings the slicer's entire environment along. The best way to do this is by pinning the whole report page as a live tile. This feature embeds a fully interactive version of your report page directly onto your dashboard, slicers and all.

Step 1: Get Your Report Page Ready

First, open your report in the Power BI service (the online version). Navigate to the page that contains the visuals and corresponding slicers you want on your dashboard. Take a moment to arrange the report page exactly how you want it to appear. Remember, you're bringing the entire page over, not just specific elements. This is your chance to compose the perfect mini-report for your dashboard.

• Position your slicers on the left or top for intuitive use.
• Ensure the visuals you want to filter are clearly visible.
• Remove any unnecessary visuals or text boxes that would just create clutter on the dashboard.

Step 2: Choose "Pin Live Page"

With your report page looking exactly as you wish in the Power BI service, locate the "File, Pin to dashboard, Export" bar next to the "Share and Export option" in the header. Click the three dots ("...") labeled "More options" in the top action bar of the report viewer and select Pin to a dashboard.

Step 3: Select Your Destination Dashboard

A dialog box will appear, prompting you to choose where you would like to pin your live page:

• In the "Pin to dashboard" pane, select either an Existing dashboard or New dashboard. Make your final selection and hit "PIN"!

Step 4: View the Tiled Page on Your Dashboard

Now, go to the dashboard you just pinned the page to. What you've done is create a direct path from the report to the Dashboard, offering a live reference point that automatically updates when it's reopened. Manual refreshing is no longer required. Instead of a static image, you should see an embedded version where both visuals and working filters are visible.

Benefits and Limitations of This Approach

Pinning a live page is powerful, but it's important to understand the trade-offs.

Benefits:

• Full Interactivity: Users can click slicers, cross-filter charts, and use tooltips directly within the dashboard.
• Automatic Updates: If you modify the source report page, the live tile on the dashboard updates automatically, eliminating the need to delete and re-pin anything.
• Consistent Layout: The layout from the report page is perfectly preserved on the dashboard.

Limitations:

• It’s All or Nothing: While you can resize the entire live tile, you cannot move or resize individual visuals within the tile. All layout changes must be made in the original report.
• Real Estate: A full report page can take up significant space, potentially making your dashboard feel crowded.
• Slower Load Times: A complex live page with many visuals may increase your dashboard's load time compared to traditional, static tiles.

Pro Tips for Effective Dashboard Slicers

To maximize your interactive dashboard's potential, keep these design principles in mind:

1. Design for the Dashboard

When creating a live tile destined report page, focus on key visuals and essential slicers. Avoid overcrowding to ensure clarity.

2. Improve Slicer Usability

Make your slicers easy to use. Adjust orientation and style in the "Format slicer" pane in Power BI Desktop.

• Switch to Tiles or Horizontal buttons for a more modern look when options are minimal.
• For date slicers, the "Between" style is typically useful, but consider the "Relative date" option for dashboards.

3. Guide Your Users

Include a text box with instructions near the slicers on your report page, such as, "Use the filters on the left to explore the sales data," for helpful context on the dashboard.

One final tip: Improve dashboard performance by enabling the "Allow selection" feature during multi-select only. Turn off all other features for single-select to optimize performance, especially when handling large datasets.

Final Thoughts

While you can't pin an individual slicer from a Power BI report to a dashboard, understanding the distinction between reports and dashboards unlocks the solution. By pinning an entire report page as a live item, you can create a dynamic, fully interactive experience for your users without them having to leave the dashboard.

This solution only scratches the surface of what's possible with reporting tools. To avoid technical hurdles, we developed Graphed to streamline the process. With Graphed, you can connect your data sources and build fully interactive dashboards by simply describing what you want to see in plain English.