Looker Studio Filters & Parameters Guidebook
🎯 Purpose¶
This guidebook explains how to use filters, controls, and parameters in Looker Studio (Data Studio) to create interactive dashboards with dynamic user input, cross-chart filtering, and calculated field flexibility.
🧭 1. Filter Types in Looker Studio¶
| Filter Type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Date range filter | Global or per-chart control of time windows |
| Dimension filter (dropdown) | Select categories like region, channel, segment |
| Chart-level filter | Narrow filter on single visualization (override global) |
| Filter control with search | Allows searching values in dropdowns |
| Hidden filter (default applied) | Applied silently for scoped views |
✔️ Filters can apply globally (top of report), to a page, or individual chart
🧮 2. Parameter Controls¶
Parameters allow dashboard users to enter custom input values that can influence calculations or filtering.
🔹 Example Use Cases¶
- Input revenue goal to calculate pacing
- Choose currency multiplier or exchange rate
- Toggle flag field (0/1) to turn on/off visuals or fields
🔹 Creating a Parameter¶
- Create parameter → name, data type, default value
- Bind parameter to a calculated field
- Add input control to dashboard (text box, dropdown, slider)
🔹 Parameter Example (Pacing Goal)¶
Parameter: user_goal (type: number)
Calculated field:
% to Goal = SUM(revenue) / user_goal
🛠️ 3. Best Practices for Filters & Parameters¶
| Practice | Why |
|---|---|
| Always label filter controls clearly | Users should understand what they’re changing |
| Use consistent naming | Avoid filter mismatch across pages or tabs |
| Test filter cascading | Ensure segment filters don’t hide all data unintentionally |
| Combine with calculated fields | Dynamic % changes, toggles, conditional formatting |
| Avoid over-filtering small datasets | Reduces empty visuals, improves performance |
🧪 4. Use Cases in Analyst Dashboards¶
- Campaign performance filter by source, UTM, or platform
- Funnel by product category, date range, or region
- Retention dashboards with month selector
- Executive dashboards with KPI toggles (e.g., by channel)
- QA dashboards with date sliders and debug flags
✅ Filter/Parameter Design Checklist¶
- [ ] Date filter defaults to relevant time window
- [ ] Category filters scoped to relevant charts/pages
- [ ] Parameters bound to clear calculations or visuals
- [ ] All controls labeled and positioned with intention
- [ ] Tested for edge cases (nulls, empty filters)
💡 Tip¶
“Great dashboards feel interactive — filters and parameters are how users ask questions without touching SQL.”