Make a Field Available as a Dashboard Filter in Salesforce Reports and Dashboards

When editing a Salesforce dashboard, you may find that a specific field is missing from the Select Field to Filter By dropdown.

To use a field as a dashboard filter, it must be supported and available in every report type referenced by every source report on the dashboard. This article outlines some common causes for this issue and provides step-by-step instructions to make missing fields available.

Causes: 

If a field is not available as a dashboard filter, review the following conditions:

1. Missing from Report Types (Most Common): The field is not included in the report type used by every source report in the dashboard.

2. Unsupported Field Types: The field is an unsupported type, such as a Bucket Field or Custom Summary Formula.

3. Unsupported Dashboard Components: The dashboard contains components based on joined reports, Visualforce or s-control widgets.

4. Filter Limit Reached: Salesforce Lightning dashboards support a maximum of 5 dashboard filters.

5. User Permissions: You do not have the required permissions to edit the dashboard.

This article focuses on the most common scenario: the field isn't available because it isn't included in all report types used by the dashboard's source reports.

Example Scenario

In this example, we'll use a Support Dashboard and configure the Case Owner field as a dashboard-level filter.

Issue: Field Is Not Available as a Dashboard Filter

1. Open the dashboard.

2. Click Edit.

3. Click + Filter.

4. Notice that Case Owner isn't available in the Select Field to Filter By list.

Resolution

The Case Owner field must be available in the report type used by every source report before it can be selected as a dashboard filter.

Step 1: Identify the Source Reports 

• Open the dashboard
• Review each dashboard component and identify the report used as its data source.

Step 2: Verify the Field in Each Source Report

• Open each source report
• Click Edit
• In the Outline panel, search for and try to add the Case Owner field
• If the field isn't available, identify the report type used by the report. The report type name appears next to the report name in the report editor

Step 3: Add the Field to the Report Type

• From Setup, enter Report Types in the Quick Find box, and select Report Types
• Open the report type identified in the previous step
• Click Edit Layout.

• Add the Case Owner field to the report type layout.

• Click Save

Note: Repeat these steps for every report type used by the dashboard's source reports. The field must be available in every report type before it can be used as a dashboard filter.

Step 4: Add the Dashboard Filter

• Return to the dashboard and click Edit
• Click + Filter
• In Select Field to Filter By, search for and select Case Owner.

• Configure the filter by specifying the Operator, Value, and Display Text
• Click Add

• Click Save, then click Done

Result

After the field has been added to every report type used by the dashboard's source reports, it becomes available in the Select Field to Filter By list. You can then add it as a dashboard filter and use it to filter dashboard components.

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Written by: Smitha Thomas | Forum Ambassador

Smitha is a Salesforce Consultant and Trailhead Forum Ambassador who is passionate about supporting Trailblazers and contributing to the community. She is continually inspired by the rapid evolution of the Salesforce ecosystem and enjoys exploring its powerful automation features and Agentforce capabilities.

If you have questions, tap into the wisdom of our entire Trailblazer Community here: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/trailblazer-community/feed

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