[Looker Studio]How to use cross-filtering with chart interactions

Cross-filtering in Looker Studio's chart interactions is a convenient feature that allows you to refine the data displayed across multiple charts by selecting an item directly on a chart. In this article, we will provide a detailed explanation of how cross-filtering works, how to configure it, and how it differs from controls, using images to make everything clear.

Cross-filtering with Chart Interactions

Chart interactions available in Looker Studio are features that enable components to act as clickable filters. When you want to narrow down a chart to specific data, you can click on that data point, which then filters not only the selected chart but also other related charts to display only the specific data you selected.

Cross-filtering in Action in a Real Report

Let's take a look at how cross-filtering works in an actual report. In the report below, the pie chart highlighted with a blue frame displays the percentage of page views by the first-level hierarchy of the website.

(Quote:Looker Studio)

Click on a specific first-level category in this pie chart.

(Quote:Looker Studio)

Cross-filtering Behavior for Time Series Charts, Line Charts, and Area Charts

In certain charts, you can drag over a specific area to apply a filter. For instance, in a time series chart, dragging over a specific time period allows you to narrow down the time range displayed in other charts. Let’s use the line chart in the report below as an example to explain this feature.

 (Quote:Looker Studio)

Drag to select the period you want to display.

 (Quote:Looker Studio)

The selected time range you drag over is highlighted, and other visualizations such as pie charts and tables below will update to display data only for the highlighted period.

This way, Cross-filtering becomes a useful feature when you want to dynamically narrow down the data displayed in your report.

How to Configure Cross-filtering for Chart Interactions 

Refer to the following article for instructions on how to create reports in Looker Studio.

[Looker Studio]How to Use Themes to Define the Style of the Entire Report

[Looker Studio]How to Use the Report Layout

[Looker Studio] How to Add Charts and Tables to Report

With 88studio's one-time purchase plan, you can create high-quality GA4 reports simply by copying the template. This allows you to create reports more efficiently than building them from scratch.

Next, let's set up cross-filtering for chart interactions in your report. The configuration needs to be applied to each chart individually. Start by clicking the edit button in the top-right corner of the report to switch to edit mode.

 (Quote:Looker Studio)

 Next, select the chart where you want to enable Cross-filtering. The settings panel will appear on the right side. Scroll all the way down to find the Cross-filtering option, then click the toggle button to enable it.

 (Quote:Looker Studio)

If the screen appears as shown below, cross-filtering has been successfully enabled for that chart. Repeat this process for each chart you want to use as a filter.

 (Quote:Looker Studio)

Difference from Controls

Controls are another feature for filtering displayed data, similar to cross-filtering. The blue-bordered sections in the image below represent controls. 

 (Quote:Looker Studio)

There are various types of controls, but here, selecting an option displays a list, allowing you to narrow down the displayed data by choosing an item. 

 (Quote:Looker Studio)

The functionality of Cross-filtering and controls is essentially the same in that both allow you to filter displayed data. However, there are differences in terms of usability within the report.

When using Cross-filtering to narrow down data in a pie chart like the one below, it can be challenging to click on the desired segment if the data volume is small and the display area is limited. Additionally, some charts may be configured to show only the top 10 items, meaning the item you want to filter may not even be displayed on the chart.

For this reason, Cross-filtering is well-suited for intuitively narrowing down major items but is not ideal for more detailed filtering.

 (Quote:Looker Studio)

 Understand the differences and use controls and cross-filtering appropriately.

How to Reset Graph Filters

Here are the methods to clear the filtered state created by cross-filtering:

(Quote:Looker Studio) 

Click the highlighted filter dimension again.

Click the reset icon displayed at the top-left corner of the chart.

Right-click the chart, and select "Reset" from the menu that appears.

Click on a blank area within the chart.

Constraints of Chart Interactions

Some components, such as scorecards and bullet graphs, do not support chart interactions.

Additionally, if a graph displays data beyond the top 10 as "Others," cross-filtering cannot be applied to the "Others" category.