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How-to guidesIntermediate4 min read· Published on October 14, 2026

Period Plume: 8 how-to guides (last 30 days, year over year, seasons…)

Rolling periods, opening on the last 12 months, year-over-year comparison, business periods, minimum length and monthly data, step by step in Period Plume.

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These recipes assume Period Plume is already set up. If it is not, start with getting started: the examples reuse its data. Features marked ★ are premium: they work without a license, with a watermark.

How do I always show "the last 30 days," even tomorrow?

A dashboard refreshed every night must show the most recent period without anyone touching the slicer.

  1. In Format › Presets, leave Reference date on Today.
  2. Leave Rolling preset (moves with each refresh) turned on.
  3. In the visual, click Last 30 days, then save the report.

Result: a "Rolling" badge appears in the header. The filter is saved as a relative date filter: tomorrow, it will cover the 30 days up to tomorrow. Bookmarks and slicer syncing keep it.

Watch out: this assumes your data is up to date. If your data stops in the past, "Last 30 days" is empty; in that case, set Reference date to Last date in the data (the period then becomes fixed).

How do I open the report on the last 12 months?

  1. In Format › Preselection, set Shortcut (no DAX) to Last 12 months.
  2. Click Clear in the visual's header to remove any date filter, then save.

Result: when the report opens, the visual applies the last 12 months (once per session: the reader is then in control). If the report was saved with another period, or a bookmark recalls one, that period is kept; turn on Force to impose the 12 months.

Tip: for a period the shortcuts don't offer (the current quarter, the fiscal year), drop into the Preselection field a measure that returns the range in ISO dates, for example "2026-04-01;2027-03-31" (★, see the fields and settings).

How do I compare the period with the previous year? ★

  1. In Format › Comparison ★, turn on Show ★.
  2. Leave Compare with ★ on Same period last year.
  3. With the sample data, click Year to date.

Result: the matching 2024 period is hatched on the timeline and the difference is shown: 34.1K vs. 23.4K, about +46%. Without a key, a "Premium preview" watermark appears.

To show last year's figures elsewhere in the report, put the Revenue LY and Change vs LY measures (section "The data you need") in cards: they follow the chosen period.

How do I track a metric where going down is good news? ★

Delivery times, returns, complaints: an increase is bad news.

  1. In Format › Comparison ★, turn on Show ★.
  2. Set Compare with ★ to Previous period (the period of the same length just before).
  3. Turn off An increase is good.

Result: a decrease is shown in the favorable color, an increase in the unfavorable color.

How do I offer business periods (sales, seasons)? ★

  1. In Format › Presets › Custom periods ★, type one period per line:

    Winter Sale 2025: 2025-01-08 - 2025-02-04
Black Friday 2025: 28/11/2025 - 01/12/2025

Result: two named buttons are added to the presets; they set fixed periods.

How do I require a period of at least one week, confirmed with a button?

On a large model, or when a very short period makes no sense.

  1. In Format › Behavior, set Minimum length (days) to 7.
  2. Set Apply the filter to With an "Apply" button.

Result: a period can no longer be shorter than 7 days, and the report only updates when you click Apply.

How do I filter everything before (or after) a date?

Stock as of a date, contracts signed before a deadline: you need "everything up to" the chosen day, with no start date.

  1. In Format › Behavior, set Style to Before (or After for "everything from").
  2. Drag the single handle on the timeline, or type the date in the date box.

Result: the filter sent is "Date ≤ 3/31/2026" (or "≥" with After), like the Before and After styles of the native date slicer. This style is free.

How do I use monthly or yearly data?

Monthly budget, yearly statistics: your dates are all on the 1st of the month, or you have a Year column.

  1. Drag the date column (or the Year column as a whole number) into Date.
  2. Drag the measure into Measure (trend).

Result: the visual detects the pattern. With monthly data, the boxes show "March 2024" and the presets snap to whole months; with yearly data, the presets become "Latest year," "5 years," "10 years," "20 years." When the data stops in the past, the presets start from the last date in the data.

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