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9.1 Filter Concepts

Filters decide which data a workbook shows – e.g. this year, region North, A-customers only. Datashop lets you filter at several levels, from the whole workbook down to a single column. Knowing the levels helps you build workbooks that behave as users expect.

The Filter Levels

Level Applies to Where you set it
Workbook filters Every visual in the workbook The Filter Panel (5.5 The Filter Panel), filter visuals on the sheets (8.8 Filter Visuals), and charts used as filters (6.3 Filtering from the Data)
Visual filter (local filter) One table, chart or gauge The visual's criteria in the Element Structure panel
Metric filter (embedded filter) One metric or column, e.g. Revenue, only invoices Double-click the column in the Element Structure panel → Filter tab, or in the metric's definition
Saved filters Wherever they are used Named filters in the Filters folder, reused in many workbooks – see 9.2 Building Filters
User filter All data a user sees, everywhere Set by an administrator per user – row-level security, e.g. a salesperson only sees own customers

Distributions add their own filter and per-recipient filters on top – see 18.3 Recipients and Personal Reports.

How the Levels Combine

When a visual loads its data, Datashop combines the filters in this order:

  1. Workbook filters: the Filter Panel boxes, the filter visuals and any charts used as filters.
  2. The visual's own filter is added. Before that, the visual can change or ignore some workbook filters – see 9.4 Filter Modifiers and Ignoring Filters. A chart used as a filter doesn't filter itself.
  3. Each metric's filter is added for that metric's column only.
  4. The user filter always applies – unless the metric is specifically set up to ignore it.

The levels are combined with AND: data must satisfy all of them.

How Criteria Combine Within a Filter

  • Criteria on different dimensions combine with AND: Region = North and Year = 2026.
  • Several values for the same dimension combine with OR: Region = North or Region = South – Datashop turns them into one In list.
  • "Not" criteria (Not equal to, Not in, Not Between, Not like, Is not null) must all be true.
  • In the Filter Panel, each box is combined with AND; a box set to ∪ Union is combined with OR with the box before it on the same dimension – see 7.7 Configuring the Filter Panel.
  • An empty filter box means no restriction – all values.

When Filters Are Applied

By default, the workbook refreshes as soon as a filter changes. Turn Auto-apply off in the Filter Panel (or Update workbook on filter change in File → Properties) to change several filters and then click Apply – useful for heavy workbooks.

A Mandatory filter box or filter visual must have a value before data is loaded. Until then the visuals show Please select a value for '…'.