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Full Dashboard Filters entry
How-to guide

Adding and configuring Dashboard Filters

Dashboard Filters are configured in the dashboard editor under the gear icon. Set them up after the components are placed so you can see immediately which components respond to which filter.

By Dipojjal Chakrabarti · Founder & Editor, Salesforce DictionaryLast updated May 16, 2026

Dashboard Filters are configured in the dashboard editor under the gear icon. Set them up after the components are placed so you can see immediately which components respond to which filter.

  1. Open the dashboard in edit mode

    Dashboards tab, find the dashboard, click Edit. The editor shows the grid of components and a header with the gear icon. Filters live under Edit Dashboard Properties or the dedicated + Filter button in the header.

  2. Add the first filter

    Click + Filter in the dashboard header. Pick the field. The filter form lets you label the filter (the dropdown label viewers see), pick an operator, and define up to 50 filter values with friendly display names. Filter values can include All as a default value.

  3. Define filter values

    For picklist filters, enter each value that should be selectable. For numeric or date filters, define range buckets (Q1 covers Jan 1 to Mar 31, etc). Each value gets a display label shown in the dropdown plus the underlying filter logic.

  4. Save and test against each component

    Save the dashboard. Pick a value from the filter dropdown. Watch which components update; components built on reports without the filter field stay static. Mismatches are usually because the filter field is named differently on different source reports (Account.Industry vs Account.Industry__c).

  5. Set a default filter value

    Edit the filter and choose a default. The default applies when a viewer opens the dashboard without picking a filter explicitly. Useful for region-specific dashboards where the implicit "everyone" view is misleading.

Key options
Filter fieldremember

Any field on the source reports that the filter should target. Must exist on the report; a field on the underlying object that is not on the report does not work.

Operatorremember

Equals, not equals, less than, greater than, contains, starts with, and date-specific operators (within last N days, FY, FQ, TODAY).

Valuesremember

Up to 50 enumerated values per filter, each with a display label and underlying filter logic. Multi-select is supported on equals filters.

Default selectionremember

The value applied when a viewer opens the dashboard. Defaults to All if not set.

Gotchas
  • Three-filter cap is hard. Plan which cross-cuts are most valuable; do not promise stakeholders a fourth filter.
  • Filter picklist values do not auto-sync from the source field metadata. Adding a new Industry to the field requires editing the dashboard filter.
  • Components on reports that lack the filter field do not filter. This is intentional, but confuses viewers expecting all components to respond uniformly.
  • URL parameters, source-report filters, and dashboard filters AND together. Conflicting filters return empty components; check all three layers when debugging.
  • Date filters use the relative-date operators (FY, FQ, TODAY). Typed-in date strings do not work; bookmark URLs with literal dates break in the next month.

See the full Dashboard Filters entry

Dashboard Filters includes the definition, worked example, deep dive, related terms, and a quiz.