# Bar Slicer Plume: 9 how-to guides (Top N, Excel list, bookmarks…)

> Sync the slicer across pages, save a selection, keep the 5 biggest categories, paste a list from Excel, sort months in calendar order: step by step.

- Language: English
- Web page: https://plumevisuals.com/en/tutorials/bar-slicer-plume-cas-pratiques
- Published: 2026-10-14
- Visual: Bar Slicer Plume, technical reference: https://plumevisuals.com/ai/visuals/bar-slicer.md
- If an option name in this tutorial differs from the technical reference, the reference is right (it is generated from the visual's code).

These recipes assume a Bar Slicer Plume is already in place. If it isn't, start with [getting started](/en/tutorials/segment-liste-avec-barres): the examples reuse its data. Features marked ★ are premium: they work without a license, with a watermark.

## How do I sync the slicer across several pages?

Your report has several pages and readers should only have to pick their categories once: **slicer sync** (a Power BI feature) keeps the same selection on every page you choose.

1. Select Bar Slicer Plume on the first page.
2. In the ribbon, select **View › Sync slicers**. The **Sync slicers** pane opens and lists the report's pages.
3. In the sync column (circular arrows icon), check each page that should share the selection.
4. In the visibility column (eye icon), check the pages where the slicer should also be displayed. Power BI places a copy of the visual there.

5. Check "Lighting" on the first page, then go to another checked page.

Result: "Lighting" is already checked on the other page and its visuals are filtered. A page checked for sync but not for visibility is filtered without showing the slicer.

## How do I save a selection in a bookmark?

You want to offer ready-made "views" ("Indoor", "Outdoor") without readers having to check the values themselves. A **bookmark** (see the [glossary](/en/tutorials/bien-demarrer-visuels-plume#glossary)) is a snapshot of the page's state, slicer selections included.

1. In Bar Slicer Plume, check "Lighting", "Decor" and "Home linens".
2. In the ribbon, select **View › Bookmarks**. The **Bookmarks** pane opens.
3. Click **Add**. A bookmark named "Bookmark 1" appears.
4. Open the bookmark's **…** menu › **Rename**, and name it "Indoor".
5. In the same **…** menu, make sure **Data** is checked: this is the option that saves slicer selections.
6. Click **Clear** in the slicer header, then click the "Indoor" bookmark.

Result: the three categories are checked again and the page is filtered. For a button on the page, select **Insert › Buttons › Blank**, then in **Format › Action**, choose the **Bookmark** type and the "Indoor" bookmark.

> **Tip:** **Tip**: to make a bookmark affect only this slicer, select the slicer, then in the bookmark's **…** menu choose **Selected visuals** before updating it.

## How do I open the report with categories already checked? ★

You want the report to already show the two flagship categories when it opens, without a bookmark or a click from the reader: **preselection** checks the values returned by a measure.

1. With the `Sales` table selected, **Modeling › New measure**:

```dax
Preselected Categories = "Lighting;Garden"
```

2. Drag `Preselected Categories` into the visual's **Preselection** well.
3. In **Format › Preselection**, leave **Apply** on *Once per session*: the selection applies when the report opens, then the reader is in control.
4. Click **Clear** in the slicer header, save the report, close it and reopen it.

Result: Lighting and Garden are checked when the report opens and the page is filtered. A selection saved in the report or recalled by a bookmark is kept; turn on **Force** for the preselection to replace it.

> **Tip:** **Tip**: the measure can compute its list. `Preselected Categories = CONCATENATEX ( TOPN ( 2, ALL ( Sales[Category] ), [Revenue] ), Sales[Category], ";" )` checks the two best-selling categories each month. Keep `ALL`: without it, the measure would only see each row's category.

## How do I stop the slicer from filtering a specific visual?

One visual on the page must stay on the total (for example a "Total store revenue" card) even when a category is checked.

1. Select Bar Slicer Plume.
2. In the ribbon, select **Format › Edit interactions**. Small icons appear above the other visuals.
3. Above the visual to protect, click the **None** icon (circle with a slash).
4. Click **Edit interactions** again to leave this mode.

Result: this visual ignores the slicer selection; the other visuals stay filtered.

## How do I select the 5 biggest categories in one click? ★

In a meeting, people want "the top 5 categories" without looking for them one by one.

1. Make sure a measure is in **Measure (bars)** (here, `Revenue`).
2. In **Format › Quick actions**, leave **Top N ★** on and set **N** to *5*.
3. Click the visual's **Top N** button.

Result: the 5 categories with the highest revenue are checked. Note: this is a list fixed at the moment you click. If sales change after a refresh, the selection isn't recalculated; click Top N again.

## How do I filter on a list copied from Excel? ★

A colleague sends you a workbook with the list of categories to track.

1. In Excel, copy the column of categories (one value per cell).
2. In Bar Slicer Plume, click the **Paste a list** button.
3. Paste the list into the box that opens (`;` and `,` separators are also accepted).
4. Choose whether to replace the current selection or add to it.

Result: the values from the list that exist in the slicer are checked.

## How do I make a single-choice slicer?

Some pages only make sense for one value at a time (a channel, a region).

1. In **Format › Selection**, set **Mode** to *Single value*.
2. Turn on **Always keep one value selected**.

Result: radio buttons replace the checkboxes; a click replaces the chosen value, and it's impossible to uncheck everything. If nothing is checked, the visual checks the first value itself.

## How do I sort months in calendar order?

With a "Month" field, sorting by measure mixes up January, March, June…

1. In Power BI's **Table** view, select the month name column, then **Column tools › Sort by column** and choose the month number column.
2. In Bar Slicer Plume, **Format › Sort › Sort by**: choose *Model order*.
3. Turn off **Sort toggle in the visual** if readers shouldn't change this order.

Result: months are displayed from January to December, with their bars. For codes like "M2", "M10", *Label A → Z* with **Natural sort (2 before 10)** is enough.

## How do I customize the selection summary? ★

You want a business-friendly sentence instead of the standard text, for example "2 categories of 6 ·" followed by the selected revenue and its share.

1. In **Format › Selection summary**, enter in **Text ★**: `{n} categories of {count} · {sel} ({pct})`.
2. Turn off **Share of total on the right** so the share isn't shown twice.

Result: with Lighting and Garden checked, the summary starts with "2 categories of 6", then gives the revenue of these two categories and their share (about 57%).

## Learn more

- [Getting started with Bar Slicer Plume](/en/tutorials/segment-liste-avec-barres): the data to prepare and a first visual, step by step.
- [Bar Slicer Plume: every field and setting explained](/en/tutorials/bar-slicer-plume-champs-et-reglages): every field well and every setting.
- [Getting started with Plume visuals](/en/tutorials/bien-demarrer-visuels-plume): installation, license, styles and settings shared by all visuals.
- The visual's page: [Bar Slicer Plume](/en/visuals/bar-slicer). Have a question? [Support](/en/support).