Learn how to add a Power BI button to clear all slicer filters. Power BI Buttons are quick and easy to add, there are even pre-built actions to help people with common tasks like selecting and clearing filters. We’ll explain how to both add buttons, and how to set them up to change the filtered view.
While slicers are generally easy to use and users can choose to select all two times to clear the filters on an individual slicer thing can get a bit out of control when there are numerous slicers on a page and report viewers are fully taking advantage Power BI’s self service capabilities.
At some point when there are so many slicer filters selected a button to reset all filters is a welcome addition.
Let’s look at how to set them up!
Table of Contents
What are Power BI Buttons?
Power BI buttons are interactive elements that enhance the overall user experience and functionality of your reports and dashboards. From navigating between different report pages to executing more complex tasks like launching a Q&A box, these buttons are your gateway to a more dynamic data interaction.
One of the most common requests for button functionality is the ability to clear slicers.
Why You Should Add Buttons to Clear Slicer Filters in Power BI
There’s a reason that buttons to clear slicers are so popular. Slicer filters in Power BI provide a way for you to segment and drill down into your data. However, the more filters you apply, the more complex it becomes to revert back to a broader view.
This is where buttons to clear slicer filters come into play. The key benefits of an easy to see button on a report page include:
- User Experience – Enhances the user’s ability to navigate the dashboard efficiently.
- Convenience – Users can easily reset filters to view the entire dataset without manually removing each slicer.
- Time-Saving – A single click can instantly reset multiple filters, thereby saving time.
They’re especially useful if your organization is new to Power BI. The easier you can make common functionality the better the adoption of the platform will be. Many users struggle with the use of slicers and all of the different filtering functions that Power BI supports.
How to Add a Cler All Slicer Button in Power BI
To create a clear all slicers button to remove all filters, navigate to Insert, Buttons, on the Power BI Ribbon. When you click on buttons a menu appears with all of the different pre-set button icons and actions that can quickly be added. At the bottom of the list, select Clear all Slicers.
A new rectangle button will be added to your report dashboard. You can adjust the background, text displayed, colors, and interactions that occur when people hover over or click the button.
For a more tailored experience to blend in with your overall dashboard design, you can create custom buttons and import images designed in Photoshop, Figma or other design software.
How to Customize Power BI Button Actions
If you choose to use a custom design for your clear all filters button in Power BI, you can manually assign the clear all slicers or apply all slicers action upon pressing the button. Button actions can be updated by selecting a button, navigating to the format options panel, button, and changing the action to Cler all Slicers.
Make sure that Action is turned on to view the different button interaction types. If you are working with an image or shape combination the action setting will not be turned on by default.
Once the appropriate action is selected, it will become active for the button. Now when the button is pressed, it will clear all of the previously selected slicer options without a user having to manually refresh the dashboard to reset it to its original state.
Testing Apply All Filters and Clear all Filters Buttons
After adding buttons to your report, it’s important to test the interaction with slicers. Try selecting multiple items on a slicer, or multi-select several slicer options. If you try to test the interaction by clicking on a button it will not work, you will end up selecting the button to make formatting changes to it.
Hold CTRL + Left Click on a button after it’s been added into a Power BI report to test that it’s working appropriately.
Once the report is published to the Power BI Service to share with other users, the button actions will occur as expected without having to hold down the CTRL button.
Resetting Report Views to Clear Filters on the Power BI Service
Setting up custom buttons in Power BI to clear all filters is a great way to blend a common request into your dashboard interface. However, we should also point out that Power BI Report Viewers can click on the Reset Filters button at the top right of any published report when logged into the Power BI Service. It’s notated by a small green circle with a looping arrow in it.
The Power BI reset filters button will refresh the report and bring it back to its original state. It clears filters, slicers, and takes you back to the state at which the report was previously published for viewing.
Many novice Power BI report viewers are unaware of the option, so building in a button that has a similar function but is more visible is still a recommended solution.
Use Buttons to Navigate to Default Page Views
An alternative to setting up a reset filter button is to setup navigation buttons that go to bookmarked views of a page. Power BI Bookmarks are used to save different states of a page. For example, you can preset filters on a page, or adjust the visibility of different visuals to switch between them.
By using a similar method, you can create a button that navigates to a saved bookmark view of the standard dashboard. To set up this method, first create a button, then create a bookmark using the bookmarks panel which can be turned on from the elements section of the Power BI ribbon. Create a new bookmark after setting a page to the default view.
Once a bookmark is created, you can assign the bookmark action to a button and when pressed, it will reset the view back to the original state. You can learn more about setting up button navigation from the Guy in a Cube Youtube video below!
One drawback with this method is that it only works for a single page at a time, but can re-create the effect of reverting all slicer filters and drill-downs to the initial state.
Conclusion
While the Power BI Service has a reset all filters button in the top right corner, many report viewers are unaware of the functionality. The button also does not exist in Power BI desktop which can be annoying when you are testing your report to make sure that it’s working as designed.
To create custom buttons to reset all filters, add a new reset filter button from the button menu on the Power BI ribbon, or assign a reset filter action to a custom button. Custom buttons give you more control over the look and feel of a button to match the rest of your dashboard design.