Power BI’s May 2025 update brings several enhancements, but one standout feature is the newly improved Power BI list slicer. This visual element now supports enhanced formatting, nested fields, image embedding, and more making it more powerful, flexible, and visually dynamic than ever before.
In this post, I’ll walk you through what’s new, how it works, and how to configure it step by step.
From Button Slicers to List Slicers
Back in late 2023, Power BI introduced button slicers, which offered enhanced formatting options, support for images, and interactive states like hover and press. However, button slicers could only display a single field, limiting their use in hierarchical scenarios.
Then came list slicers in October 2024 a much-needed addition for multi-field or nested hierarchies. While useful, they initially lacked the formatting flexibility of button slicers. That changes with the May 2025 update.
What’s New in List Slicers (May 2025)
Here’s what the new list slicers bring to the table:
- Hierarchical support with nested fields
- Advanced formatting for all slicer states (hover, press, selected, etc.)
- Image embedding from URL fields
- Dynamic labels to add subtext or context
- Copy/paste support from tab-separated lists
- Restrict selection to leaf nodes
- Custom interactions between slicers
This new flexibility allows you to build slicers that are both functional and visually engaging.
Demo Overview: Instructor Team Slicer
For this demo, I use a dataset with instructor teams and details, including:
- Team name
- Instructor name
- Title
- Headshot image URL
This structure forms a perfect hierarchy to showcase the enhanced list slicer.
Step 1: Add Fields to the Slicer
Drag in the team and instructor name fields. You’ll now see a nested slicer with expandable team categories. From here, you can:
- Enable tooltips
- Customize visual interactions
- Choose to allow parent-level selections or restrict to individual instructors
Step 2: Basic Formatting
Go to the format pane and configure:
- Slicer settings like single-select, force selection, or “Select All” toggle
- Shape (rounded rectangles, corner radius)
- Layout (spacing, indentation, number of buttons displayed)
This lets you control the visual density and layout of your slicer.
Step 3: Advanced State Formatting
This is where the May 2025 update really shines. You can now apply styles based on:
- Slicer state (hover, selected, default)
- Field level (team or instructor)
- Interaction state (collapsed, expanded)
For example, make team names bold on hover or show selected instructors in a different font style. This deep control brings polish and clarity to your reports.
Step 4: Add Dynamic Labels
Labels can now act as subtext under each slicer item. You might use them to show:
- The number of instructors per team (using distinct count)
- Instructor titles or specialties
These labels are customizable by state and series, and they work just like sublabels in button slicers.
Step 5: Embed Instructor Images
List slicers now support image URLs for even more context. Simply:
- Select the instructor name series
- Add the image URL field
- Format the image size, spacing, and alignment
- Set different saturation or visual effects for each state
This is perfect for employee directories, team selectors, or product pickers.
Step 6: Clean Up the UI
- Hide unnecessary selection icons
- Customize expand/collapse chevrons
- Match slicer buttons with your theme
All of this helps create a cohesive, modern look across your report.
Conclusion
The May 2025 Power BI update transforms the list slicer into one of the most powerful and customizable visuals available. With hierarchical navigation, flexible formatting, dynamic labels, and image support, you can now build slicers that do more and look great doing it.
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