How to interact with visuals in Power BI
Interacting with Visuals in Power BI Reports
Overview: Exploring Data in Power BI
Power BI reports are interactive, meaning you can click, filter, and explore data directly within each visual.
Instead of being static charts, visuals in Power BI are designed to help you find answers quickly by letting you focus on the data most relevant to you.
With just a few clicks, you can:
Filter data by selecting parts of a visual (such as bars, slices, or map points)
Drill down to see more detailed levels of information
Hover to view tooltips with additional context
Cross-highlight related data across other visuals on the page
This makes it easy to explore data without needing to edit or rebuild the report.
How to Interact with Visuals
Follow these steps to get the most out of your Power BI report visuals.
1. Select Data Points to Filter or Highlight
Click on a bar, pie slice, or data point within a visual.
Other visuals on the page will update automatically to reflect your selection.
Click again on the same area to clear the selection.
Visual 1: Default page view. All proposals are included in the table.
Visual 2: Bar for Team 2 has been selected in the bar chart. The table has been filtered to include only those records (Team 2). This occurs for all visuals on a page.
2. Use Built-in Filters and Slicers
Many reports include slicers (such as dropdowns, lists, or date pickers) that allow you to filter data by category, time period, or other attributes.
Select one or multiple items in a slicer to refine the visuals.
To clear your selections, click the eraser icon next to the slicer.
For more information on using the filter pane, see the How to Use the Filter Pane in Power BI solution.
3. Drill Down for More Detail
If a visual supports drill down, hover over it and look for the drill icons (usually in the top-right corner of the visual).
Click Drill down to explore more detailed levels (for example, from Year → Quarter → Month).
Use Drill up to return to higher-level data.
4. Use Tooltips for Quick Insights
Hover your mouse over a data point or bar to see more information in a tooltip.
Tooltips often include additional measures, totals, or percentage changes that aren’t displayed on the main chart.
5. Reset or Clear All Filters
If you’ve applied multiple filters and want to return to the original report view, use the Reset to default option.
You’ll find it in the upper-right corner of the report toolbar.
Alternatively, most OVPR reports have a "Reset Filters" button built into the report that resets to a default view.
This resets filters, slicers, and visual interactions to their original state.
Tips for Exploring Reports
Look for the Filter pane on the right side of the screen, it shows which filters are currently applied.
If visuals don’t respond as expected, check for page-level or report-level filters that may be limiting data.
Combine visual selections and slicers to narrow down your view even further.
Try right-clicking on visuals, some include custom actions or drill-through links to detailed pages.
Next Steps
Exploring visuals is a powerful way to understand your data in context. Once you’ve found a view you like, consider saving it as a bookmark (see How to Use Bookmarks to Save Views in Power BI for reference).
For additional guidance or questions, contact your organization’s Power BI support team or report owner.