4.2.3. Navigation, Drillthrough, and Sync Slicers
💡 First Principle: Multi-page reports need paths. Navigation buttons provide the main routes; drillthrough provides context-carrying detours from a summary point to a detail page; synced slicers keep the reader's selection consistent as they move between pages.
Navigation: insert buttons (Insert > Buttons) and set their Action to Page navigation (go to a specific page, or conditionally to a page chosen by a measure), Bookmark, Back, Drill through, Q&A, or Web URL. The page navigator and bookmark navigator (Insert > Buttons > Navigator) automatically create a button set for all pages or a group of bookmarks and update as pages are added, renamed, or hidden. In Desktop, Ctrl+click activates buttons while editing; in the service a single click works.
Drillthrough sends a reader from a data point on one page to a target page filtered to that point. Configure the target page by adding fields to its Drill through well (for example, Product[Product Name]). Then:
- Right-clicking any visual on other pages that contains that field offers Drill through > [page].
- Keep all filters (on by default) passes all filters affecting the source visual, not just the drillthrough field.
- Cross-report drillthrough lets targets in other reports in the same workspace or app receive the drill (enable it in both reports' settings and on the target page).
- Power BI adds a Back button to the target page automatically; you can format it or add your own.
- A button with action Drill through can offer drillthrough when the user selects a data point, with dynamic button text.
- Hide drillthrough target pages so readers reach them only with context.
Contrast drill down, which moves within a single visual's hierarchy (Year > Quarter > Month) using the visual header's drill buttons, with drillthrough, which jumps to a different page.
Sync slicers (View > Sync slicers) let one slicer's selection apply across chosen pages. The pane shows each page with two checkboxes: Sync (the selection applies on that page) and Visible (the slicer appears on that page). A slicer can therefore filter a page without appearing on it. Advanced options let you assign slicers to a sync group so different slicers on the same field share selections.
⚠️ Exam Trap: When a requirement is "filter the Details page by the Year slicer on the Overview page without showing the slicer on Details," use Sync slicers with Sync checked and Visible cleared for the Details page, not copying the slicer and hiding it.
Reflection Question: A reader drills through from a chart that's filtered by a Region slicer, and the detail page shows all regions. Which drillthrough setting explains this, and what should it be?
