4.2.1. Bookmarks, the Selection Pane, and Grouping
💡 First Principle: A bookmark saves a configuration of the page so you can return to it with one click. Combined with the selection pane, which controls which visuals are visible and in what layer order, bookmarks let you build toggles, guided tours, and alternate views without duplicating pages.
Create bookmarks from the Bookmarks pane (View > Bookmarks > Add). Each bookmark can capture, via its options (the More options menu):
| Bookmark option | When checked, the bookmark restores | Uncheck it when |
|---|---|---|
| Data | Filters, slicers, sort, drill state, cross-highlighting | The bookmark should only change visibility, keeping the reader's filters |
| Display | Visibility (from the Selection pane), spotlight, focus mode | Only data state should change |
| Current page | Navigates to the page where it was created | The bookmark should apply to whichever page is open |
| All visuals / Selected visuals | Applies to all visuals or only the visuals selected when updating | You want it to affect only specific visuals (e.g., a toggle) |
Bookmarks can be grouped and played as a slideshow (View mode in the Bookmarks pane) for presentations. Report readers can also create personal bookmarks in the service to save their own filter states and personalized visuals.
The Selection pane (View > Selection) lists every object on the page. Use it to show or hide visuals (the eye icon), rename objects, reorder layers (which object is in front), set tab order for keyboard navigation (4.2.4), and group visuals. Grouping (select visuals > Format > Group) lets you move, resize, hide, and show several objects as one, which keeps bookmark toggles manageable: hide or show the whole group rather than each visual.
A classic pattern is the chart/table toggle: place a chart and a table in the same spot, create a bookmark with the chart visible and the table hidden and another with the reverse (both with Data unchecked so filters persist and Selected visuals scoped to the two objects), then assign each bookmark to a button.
⚠️ Exam Trap: A toggle bookmark that resets the reader's slicer selections every time they click it has Data checked. For visibility-only toggles, clear Data so the bookmark changes only what's shown, not the filters.
Reflection Question: You build a "Show details" button that reveals a hidden table. When readers on a different page click a similar button copied from this page, they're jumped back to the original page. Which bookmark option caused this, and what should it be set to?
