Mastering Dashboard Filters
Streamline reporting with top-down "waterfall" filters. Control data globally or locally to save time, ensure consistency, and eliminate repetitive setup.
The Concept: The "Waterfall" Effect
Think of filters in your dashboard like a waterfall. Water flows from the top down.
Top: The Dashboard (Global)
Middle: The Page
Bottom: The specific Chart
Filters applied at the top flow down to everything below them. This allows you to control the data for your entire report in one click, without having to configure every single chart individually.
The Three Levels of Control
You can apply filters at three different stages depending on how broad you want the focus to be.
Level
Where to find it
Scope (Effect)
Best Used For
1. Dashboard (Global)
"Report" tab in the main Filter Panel.
Applies to every chart on every page.
Global settings like Date Range (e.g., "Last 30 Days") or high-level segments (e.g., "All Organic Traffic").
2. Page
"Page" tab in the main Filter Panel.
Applies to all charts on the current page only.
Specific themes per page.
(e.g., Page 1 = "US Traffic", Page 2 = "EU Traffic")
3. Chart
The Filter Icon directly on a specific widget.
Applies only to that single chart.
Cleaning specific data.
(e.g., Excluding "null" or "(not set)" values from a specific bar graph).
How Inheritance Works
This is the logic that decides which charts see which filters.
The Flow:
$$Dashboard Filters \rightarrow Page Filters \rightarrow Chart Filters$$
The "Inherit Filters" Toggle:
Every Page and Chart comes with a switch called "Inherit Filters."
ON (Default): The item accepts filters from the level above it. It "goes with the flow."
OFF: The item blocks filters from above. It becomes an isolated island and only uses its own specific filters.
⚠️ Important Rule: Inheritance is a chain. If a Page has Inheritance turned OFF, it blocks the Dashboard filters. The Charts on that page will never see the Dashboard filters, even if the Charts themselves have "Inherit" turned ON.
Pro Tips for Marketers
💡 Match Your Data Sources Filters are tied to a specific Data Connection (e.g., your GA4 connection). If you add a chart using a Google Sheet to a page filtered by GA4, the GA4 filters will simply be ignored by the Google Sheet chart. The data source must match for the filter to work.
ℹ️ Best Practice Workflow Always filter from the top down.
Set Dates and major Segments at the Dashboard level.
Use Page filters to separate themes (Paid vs. Organic).
Use Chart filters sparingly, mostly just to remove errors or ugly data points (like "null").
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