Date slicers

A date slicer narrows a report to a period: readers pick days in a calendar, click a preset or drag a slider. When a slicer's field holds a date column, its style options change from List, Tile and Dropdown to Between, Before, After and Single.

Add a date slicer

1. Add a slicer as described on Filters, slicers and interactions: in edit mode, pick Slicer in the Visualizations panel and drag a date column into its Field well.
2. Set Style on the Visual tab (see Format a visual). On a date column the options are Between, Before, After and Single.

Everything else a slicer does, from its title to syncing across pages, works the same for date styles; the full picture is on Slicers.

Choose the date style

• Between, Before and After show the chosen bounds on top with a slider under them. Single has only its day field and no slider.
• Blank bound fields clear the filter.

Pick dates in the calendar

1. Click a bound field. While it is unset it reads Select date; after a pick it shows the chosen date.
2. Choose a day in the calendar that opens.

• The calendar stays inside your data: days before the column's first date and after its last date are disabled, and moving between months is clamped so it never leaves that range.
• Reopening a bound lands on the month of the date it already holds, not the month you last browsed.
• Dates show the calendar day they carry in the data, so the same day reads wherever the report is opened.

Fine-tune the range with the slider

• The slider spans the column's first and last dates. Drag it to set the bounds; the labels move with the drag.
• The filter commits once, when you release the handle: each change re-runs the report's tiles, so the update lands on release rather than mid-drag.
• Slider values stay inside the column's range, so the handles always rest on real data.

Use presets

• Each bound field has a column of preset periods beside it. One click fills that bound with the period.
• A preset whose period falls outside the column's dates is disabled and drawn at 40% opacity.
• When two presets cover the same dates (Today and This week, for example), only the first one lights up.
• Under Before, presets that end today, such as This week, are left out.

Switch between date styles

• Switching between a value style (list, tile or dropdown) and a date style clears the filter, in both directions, so a range value never reads as a list tick. Switching among list, tile and dropdown keeps the selection; that side is covered on Slicers.
• Before keeps the upper end of a range, and After keeps the lower end.
• Moving between Before and After keeps the day: the same date stays, now used as the end or the start.
• A single end cannot open a range, so switching to Between clears a pick that has only one end.
• Single keeps a pick that covers one day, whether it is one end or a one-day range; a longer range is cleared.

While the range loads

• A date slicer reads the column's first and last dates before it can draw its range. While it waits, it shows Loading date range….
• If the column has no dates to span, it shows No date values for this field instead.
• Date styles have no value list to browse or search. The search box and the Loading more… footer belong to the list, tile and dropdown styles.

Questions, answered

Why are some date presets greyed out?

A preset is disabled when its period falls outside the column's dates. Use a period inside the range, or set the day in the calendar or the slider.

Why doesn't the report update while I drag the slider?

The slider commits once, on release: while you drag, only the labels move. Each change re-runs the report's tiles, so the update lands when you release the handle.

Why can't I choose a date outside my data?

The calendar only offers the days the column spans: out-of-range days are disabled, month moves are clamped, and the slider keeps its values inside the same range.

What does the Single style filter?

One whole day, the day on On date. Single has no slider, and until you pick a day it does not filter.

Why did my date filter clear when I switched styles?

Three moves clear the filter: crossing between a date style and a list, tile or dropdown style; moving to Between from a single end, because a range needs two; and moving to Single from a range longer than one day. What survives each switch is described under Switch between date styles.

What happens to my pick when I switch between Before and After?

The day stays. A single pick becomes the end under Before and the start under After; a range keeps its upper end for Before and its lower end for After.

Will my dates shift in another time zone?

No. A date shows as the calendar day it carries in the data, so the same day reads for every viewer.

Why does the calendar reopen on another month?

It opens on the month of the date the bound already holds, not the month you last browsed. Month moves stay clamped to the column's range.

Why does my date slicer say "No date values for this field"?

The column offered no dates for the slicer to span. Check the field and its values; while the slicer is reading the range it shows Loading date range… instead.

Can I search in a date slicer?

No. Search is offered only for the value styles that support it, never for a date slicer, and a date style has no value list to search. Use the calendar or a preset to reach a period.