A variable filter is a filter you specify when you process a query. You can use variable filters for standardized documents that you distribute to many users, or to automatically reset filters when you need new conditions every time you run a particular query. A (v) next to an item indicates it has a variable filter.
You place a variable filter on an item using the Filter dialog box, which is accessed in either the Slicer pane or the data layout, depending on your database. The table below specifies how various OLAP databases access the Filter dialog box.