How Data Actions Affect Filters

Use the rules set out here to understand how data actions affect filters in target workbooks, canvases, and dashboards.

You configure a data action to pass selected column values from a workbook to another workbook filter, canvas filter, or dashboard filter. Data actions can change dashboard filters and workbook filters. You can't change dashboard and workbook filters if the filter bar is hidden.

Filter values from a data action apply by default at the workbook level or at the canvas level, but if a matching user-visible filter exists in the target workbook, then the data action filter values can override it. The filter values from a data action can't override vizualization filters.

These are use case scenarios logic for data action filter values:

Filter values from data actions change dashboard filter bar column selection values - This happens when the target workbook has a dashboard filter bar that uses the same columns, and has a matching filter type.
Filter values from data actions change workbook or canvas filter values - This happens when changes to the dashboard filter aren't possible. The system then looks at the top level filter bar (workbook or canvas filters), and makes a change if there's a match to the incoming column selection, the filter bar is visible to the user, and the specific matching filter is visible and interactive (not read-only).
Filter values from data actions create a canvas filter in the filter bar - This happens when the top level filter bar or a matching filter is hidden, or read-only. The default Limit By behavior is retained.

Use these rules to understand how data action filters interact with existing filters in target dashboards and workbooks:

A data action can't add filters to a dashboard filter bar; it can only reuse existing filters on the dashboard filter bar.
A data action can only reuse dashboard filters if a matching filter exists in the target workbook.
A data action gives precedence to matching filters on the dashboard filter bar. This means that if there is a choice between a data action reusing a matching filter in a dashboard filter bar or a canvas filter bar, then the data action reuses the matching dashboard filter in preference to the matching canvas filter.
A data action creates a canvas filter in the workbook filter bar if a compatible dashboard filter doesn't exist in the target workbook.
A data action never creates a workbook filter in the target workbook. You need to bind the filter to a parameter to achieve this functionality.
A data action can't change visualization filters because they aren't the target of data actions. This includes visualization filters selected on the dashboard filter bar. You need to bind these filters to parameters to change the values.
A data action doesn't reuse an expression filter but instead creates a canvas expression filter.