Read a report

A report is a set of pages with visuals, built on one semantic model. Use this page when you are reading a report someone shared with you: what the header offers, how to narrow the page with a click, how to drill, and how to return to the view its author saved. To build and edit reports, see Build a report.

What the report header offers

In view mode the header carries these actions, in this order:

• Refresh re-runs every chart on this report; its tooltip reads "Re-run every chart on this report".
• Export downloads the report or a visual's data; see Export reports and data.
• Subscribe emails the report on a schedule; see Email subscriptions.
• Share shares the report with people and roles; its tooltip reads "Share this report with users or roles". See Share a report.
• Present fills the screen for reading or a wall display; see Themes and presentation.
• Documentation opens this page's notes for readers.

Actions that do not fit fold into More actions, and each action appears only when you hold the permission it needs.

Click a mark to narrow the page

• Click a bar, a point, a slice or a funnel stage to filter every other visual on the page. The change is yours only, and nothing is saved with the report.
• Hold Ctrl (Windows and Linux) or Cmd (macOS) while you click to add a value to the selection; a plain click replaces it.
• Click the only selected value again to clear it. A click on empty canvas clears your mark selections and keeps your slicer picks.
• While drill mode is on, a click drills into the chart instead of filtering.

Selections, dimming and legend linking are covered on Cross-filtering and selections; to change which visuals react to a selection, see Filters, slicers and interactions.

Drill into a chart

1. Bar, line and combo charts offer drilling when more than one field sits on their axis. Turn the chart's drill control on: it reads Turn on drill mode.
2. While it is on, the control reads Drill mode on - clicks drill down, and a click on a category drills to the next level instead of filtering.
3. Move through the levels with Drill up, Go to the next level and Expand all down one level: Drill up goes back one level, Go to the next level drills one level deeper, and Expand all down one level opens the next level for every member.
4. Return with the breadcrumb on the chart: the All chip, whose tooltip reads Clear drill, leaves the drill, and a Back to {label} chip jumps back to that level.

A drill is yours while you read: it is not saved into the report, and it changes nothing for other people.

While charts run

• Charts run in reading order, starting at the top-left of the page, and up to five run at a time. A chart that is waiting shows a queued indicator and starts as soon as a slot frees.
• While a result is being replaced, the rows you already have stay visible but dim and stop responding, so the page never blanks out mid-read.
• A Key tree split that fails answers High value split failed or Low value split failed; run the split again.

See what is filtering a visual

• Open a visual's menu and choose Applied filters: with a count badge, it lists what narrows the visual from outside it, grouped as On this page, On this visual, Slicers and Selections in other visuals. The rows are read-only.
• The footer Filters button opens the filter canvas, where the report-wide slicers live. Its count badge shows how many slicers are filtering; before a report is open, its tooltip reads Add a chart first, and with no slicers it is disabled with the tooltip No filters available. See Filters, slicers and interactions.

Your own view, and how to reset it

• Your view is yours. A sort you set, the page size you pick, the search box toggle and your column widths are remembered in this browser for about 30 days, and a chart's drill position and the expansions you opened in a Key tree are remembered per visual as well. None of it changes the report for anyone else.
• Choose Reset to default in the report footer to return to the saved view: it clears your own sorts, page size, drill, funnel filters and column widths, clears the selections you clicked on charts, restores the slicer selections the report was saved with, and fits the page back to the window.

Questions, answered

Why do some charts wait before they run?

Charts run in reading order, starting at the top-left of the page, and up to five run at a time. A chart that is waiting shows a queued indicator and starts as soon as a slot frees.

How do I drill into a chart?

Turn the chart's drill control on: it reads Turn on drill mode, and once it is on, Drill mode on - clicks drill down. Then click a category to drill to the next level. Bar, line and combo charts offer drilling when more than one field sits on their axis.

I drilled into a chart. How do I get back?

Use the breadcrumb on the chart: the All chip, whose tooltip reads Clear drill, leaves the drill, and a Back to {label} chip returns to that level. Drill up also walks back one level.

Do my drills and view changes stay for me?

Yes. Your sort, the page size you pick, the search box toggle and your column widths are remembered in this browser for about 30 days, and a chart's drill position and a Key tree's expanded path are remembered per visual too. They never change the report for anyone else; Reset to default clears them.

Why do I have to press Escape twice to close an expanded visual?

Escape backs out of one layer at a time. If another layer takes the first press, for example a table visual clearing its selected cells, the expanded visual collapses on the next press. Press Escape again.

Why did a visual dim while I was reading it?

Its result is being replaced. The rows you were reading stay on screen but dim and stop responding until the new result arrives, so the page never blanks out mid-read.

Why is the footer Filters button disabled?

Before a report is open, its tooltip reads Add a chart first. When the report has no slicers there is nothing in the report-wide filter canvas yet, so the button is disabled with the tooltip No filters available.

How do I see everything that is filtering a visual?

Open the visual's menu and choose Applied filters. Its count badge and its groups, On this page, On this visual, Slicers and Selections in other visuals, list what narrows the visual from outside it. The rows are read-only; to change what reaches the visual, see Filters, slicers and interactions.

Why did my Key tree split fail?

The split could not be chosen this time, and the tile answers High value split failed or Low value split failed. Run the split again.