How to Insert a Slicer in Excel (Pivot Table, Table or Chart)

To insert a slicer in Excel:

1. Click any cell in your pivot table (or Excel table).
2. Go to the Insert tab and click Slicer in the Filters group.
3. Tick the fields you want to filter by and click OK.

Now click a button in the slicer to filter your data. Hold Ctrl to pick more than one item.

Slicers are visual filters. Unlike the report filter, a slicer shows exactly what is filtered, and you change the filter with a single click 😀

In this lesson, I’ll show you how to add slicers to pivot tables, Excel tables and pivot charts, how to customize them and how to connect one slicer to several pivot tables.

Let’s go! Download the attached sample file to practice with me.

How to add a slicer to a pivot table

Adding slicers in Excel is very easy.

You can insert slicers into pivot tables, pivot charts and Excel tables 📈

The below Pivot table shows sales data.

Imagine that now you want to insert a slicer into your Pivot table.

1. Select any cell in the Pivot table and go to the Insert Tab.

2. Click Slicer in the Filters group. (You can also find Insert Slicer on the PivotTable Analyze tab.)

3. In the Insert Slicers dialog box, tick the pivot table field you want to filter by.

4. Click OK to insert the slicer into the worksheet.

Now you have added a slicer to your Pivot Table.

To filter data, click a button on the slicer.

If you select “Executive” from this slicer, the Pivot table data will be filtered to “Executive”.

Pro Tip: Add a slicer to a pivot chart

Do you like to create a dynamic pivot chart?

Click the pivot chart and insert a slicer the same way: Insert > Slicer (or PivotChart Analyze > Insert Slicer). When you click the buttons of the slicer, the pivot chart changes automatically, together with the pivot table behind it. That’s how you build interactive charts for a dashboard. Here’s more about pivot charts in Excel.

If you want to select multiple items, click the Multi-Select button first. Or simply hold Ctrl while you click the items.

Click the Clear Filter icon to clear the slicer filter. You can see that icon in the upper right corner of each slicer.

You can customize these Excel slicers.

First, select the slicer to show the Slicer tab on the ribbon.

You can change the display settings of the slicer by clicking Slicer Settings in the Slicer group.

The slicer settings dialog box can be used to do the following customizations to the Excel slicer.

• Uncheck the box of the display header option to hide the slicer header.

• Change the caption of the slicer header.

• Sort the items on the slicer.

• Filter the items on the slicer.

You can use the slicer styles group to change the slicer style. You can select any of the Excel in-built slicer styles or you can create your own slicer style.

You can increase the number of columns and add multiple columns to the slicer.

If you want, you can adjust the size of the slicer buttons from the Buttons group. To resize the whole slicer, drag one of its corners.

Don’t need a slicer anymore? Select it and press Delete, or right-click it and choose Remove “<Field name>” (for example, Remove “Category”).

How to add a slicer to an Excel table (without a pivot table)

Slicers aren’t only for pivot tables. You can add one to a normal Excel table too:

1. Click any cell in the table. If your data is a plain range, click a cell in it and press Ctrl + T to turn it into a table first.
2. Go to the Insert tab and click Slicer.
3. Tick the columns you want to filter by and click OK.

Click a button in the slicer and the table only shows the matching rows. Everything else works just like a pivot table slicer: multi-select, Clear Filter, Slicer Settings and styles.

One thing to know: a table slicer hides entire worksheet rows. If you have other data next to the table on the same rows, it gets hidden too. Keep other data above, below or on another sheet.

Add multiple slicers to the same pivot table

You can connect multiple slicers to the same Pivot Table as well.

All you have to do is tick more than one field in the Insert Slicers dialog box 🤹🏻

You can select “Group” and “Category” from the insert slicers dialog box in this case.

Then you will get multiple slicers to filter data in your Pivot Table.

If you have selected “A” from the “Group” slicer and “Executive” from the “Category” slicer, your Pivot table will be filtered like below.

Use the same slicer for multiple pivot tables

You can even use a single slicer for multiple pivot tables or multiple pivot charts. The only condition: the pivot tables must share the same data source.

Assume that you have created 2 separate Pivot tables for sales data. One is for sales target and the other one is for sales actual.

You can connect these 2 Excel Pivot tables with one slicer.

1. Create a slicer for the first Pivot table.

So, you can add a slicer for the group field of the sales target Pivot Table.

You can follow the same steps to create a single slicer.

Then, you can see your Pivot tables and slicer as follows.

2. Select the slicer of the first pivot table to show the Slicer tab.

3. Click Report Connections in the Slicer group.

4. In the Report Connections dialog box, tick the second pivot table.

Then, click OK.

Now you can use this one slicer for both target sales and actual sales Pivot tables.

If you select “A” from this slicer, all the Pivot tables will show only Group A details.

To disconnect a pivot table again, click inside it and go to PivotTable Analyze > Filter Connections, then untick the slicer.

That’s it! Now what?

Awesome! You now know how to insert slicers in Excel and filter your pivot tables, pivot charts and Excel tables with just a few clicks 😀

If accomplishing a lot of tasks with just a few clicks is what you want, then Excel VBA is definitely the answer. With Excel VBA, you can unlock 🔓 Excel’s potential to work for your automation and a whole lot more. You can even automate your slicers with VBA.

Start learning VBA simple, easy, and free when you join my FREE Excel Expert VBA training.

Other resources

Did you know that adding slicers in Excel will make your dashboards more dynamic? Yes, you read that right. Apply what you’ve learned today and make your dashboards come alive 👍

Learn how to make dashboards in Excel, here’s our step-by-step guide (check out the 6 best dashboard templates I’ve found too).

You can also read more about Excel Tables and Pivot tables to organize, manage, and visualize your data without breaking a sweat 😏

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a slicer in Excel?

A slicer is a box of buttons that filters an Excel table, a pivot table or a pivot chart. It’s a visual filter: you can see at a glance which items are filtered, and you change the filter with one click.

Can I insert a slicer without a pivot table?

Yes. Slicers also work with Excel tables. Click a cell in the table and go to Insert > Slicer. If your data isn’t a table yet, press Ctrl + T first. See how to add a slicer to an Excel table.

Why can’t I insert a slicer in Excel?

The Slicer button only works when the selected cell is inside an Excel table or a pivot table. Click inside your table or pivot table first. If your data is a normal range, turn it into a table with Ctrl + T.

How do I connect one slicer to multiple pivot tables?

Select the slicer, go to the Slicer tab and click Report Connections. Tick the pivot tables you want the slicer to control and click OK. This only works for pivot tables that share the same data source.

What is the difference between a slicer and a filter in Excel?

Both filter your data, but slicers are easier to use and show what’s filtered right on the sheet. One slicer can also control several pivot tables or pivot charts at once, and you can place it anywhere on the sheet. Filters are tied to the column or row headers of a single table or pivot table.

How do I filter dates with a slicer?

For dates, use a timeline instead. Click inside the pivot table and go to PivotTable Analyze > Insert Timeline. A timeline is a slicer for dates that lets you filter by years, quarters, months or days.

How do I delete a slicer?

Select the slicer and press Delete, or right-click it and choose Remove “<Field name>” (for example, Remove “Category”). Tip: click Clear Filter before you remove the slicer, so you know all your data is showing again.