Design Time Filter Options in Visualize

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Article Goal

Learn how to apply design-time filters to a Visualize dashboard at the Data Source level or for individual widgets/controls, allowing developers to control what data is included before users ever interact with the dashboard.

What Are Design-Time Filters?

Design-time filters are developer-level filters that restrict the data visible in a dashboard. These filters are not accessible or modifiable by end users in WebReports or the Visualize Viewer.

Use Case: Use design-time filters when you want to limit what data is visible to the user without exposing filter controls. For example, filter out test clients or inactive records during design.

Why Use Design-Time Filters?

• Tailor what data is shown without requiring user input

• Hide sensitive or irrelevant data for specific dashboards

• Improve dashboard performance by filtering large datasets before rendering

Note: Design-time filters are static—they’re defined during dashboard creation and cannot be changed by the viewer later.

Where Are Design-Time Filters Applied?

Filters can be applied in two places inside the Visualize Designer:

• At the Data Source level, affecting all widgets that use that source

• On individual controls/widgets, affecting only the selected item

Sample View Download

Download Sample View

Use this sample view to test filtering behavior across multiple widgets.

Steps to Apply a Data Source Filter

Step 1: Enter Visualize Designer

Open VDM and click on Visualize Designer from the main screen.

Step 2: Open the Data Source Ribbon

At the top of the designer, click on the Data Source tab.

Step 3: Click Filter

Click the Filter button to create a filter that applies to the entire data source.

Step 4: Define and Apply the Filter

Enter your desired filter criteria, then click Apply / OK.

Note: This filter will apply to all widgets using this data source. End users will not be able to see or change this.

Step 5: Confirm the Results

Ensure the dashboard updates as expected. For example, both charts in a dashboard may reflect the filtered dataset.

Steps to Apply an Individual Filter

Step 1: Select a Control/Widget

Click on the Chart, Grid, Card, etc. that you want to apply a filter to.

Step 2: Access the Data Tab

Go to the Data tab under the tools section specific to the selected widget.

Step 3: Click Edit Filter

Click Edit Filter to define filter criteria for this single widget.

Step 4: Define and Apply the Filter

Set your filtering condition and click Apply / OK.

Use Case: You can apply a filter to show only high-value clients in a chart, while another widget shows all clients. This makes it easy to create mixed data views in a single dashboard.

Step 5: Confirm Widget Behavior

Check that only the selected control has the filter applied. Other items remain unchanged.

Article Summary

Design-time filters in Visualize provide a powerful way to restrict or focus the data seen by end users. You can apply filters either globally (via the data source) or locally (to individual widgets). These filters are hidden from viewers and allow you to fine-tune the experience during dashboard design.

Use Case: A dashboard can include one chart filtered to only show "Top 10 Customers" and another chart showing total sales, giving layered insights while preserving user simplicity.