topic Re: Dynamic Global Filters in Warehousing & Analytics

Dynamic Global Filters

Stanciu_Cristi — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 08:17:42 GMT

Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well!

I'm currently working on an AI/BI dashboard designed for business users, where the goal is for users to simply view and interact with the data in the dashboard. I've asked this question before to the Agent and although I was told that this kind of classic BI functionality is not supported on the platform, I'm wondering if there might be a workaround.

In my dataset, I have around 200 variables ( dimensions ) and each variable can have between 2 and 10 possible values. Is there a way to dynamically create global parameters such that:

- The first parameter allows the user to select one ( or more ) variables from this set of 200 and

- Based on that selection, a second global parameter automatically updates to show only the values associated with the selected variable(s)?

For example:

If the user selects the car ownership variable, the second parameter should only display the values yes and no

If the user then selects car color, the second parameter should update to show only red, black, grey

Is this type of dynamic, dependent parameter set up possible or is there any known workaround to achieve this behavior?

Creating 200 x 2 individual parameters - one for each variable and it's corresponding values - is not a viable solution as it would result in a very poor and cluttered user experience. I figured out that is doable to create a global parameter that contains all variables. However, the associated global "value" parameter would then include all possible values from the dataset, allowing users to search for the value they want. I don't believe this is the best approach as many variables share the same values and this could easily lead users to select an incorrect value.

I also want to avoid using another BI tool to build this dashboard. My goal is to find a solution using only the features available within Databricks

Re: Dynamic Global Filters

davidmorton — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:59:45 GMT

Ultimately, your ask is essentially what happens when you're creating a new dashboard and you select some filter fields from the right side. The challenge here, however, is that you want this to be available to the user, and not simply at creation time. Long story short, I don't think you can do it using plain BI in Databricks, so here are a couple of other (more powerful and user friendly) options.

The first would be a custom Databricks App. With vibe coding being what it is today, this shouldn't be too terribly difficult to accomplish if you have access to Claude Code or Cursor (or some similar code-generation tools). With a Databricks App, you can basically do whatever you want, and even include such nice flourishes as having car company logos, or actual color swatches in the dropdown, etc etc.

The other (and in my opinion, the best) option could be to put this table in a Genie space and let people interact from there. It would allow people to have a conversation with the data itself, and would probably eliminate the need for the direct filtering. Instead of using dropdowns, then, the user would just type something like: "Show me all the unowned vehicles that are red or gray, and located within 100 miles of zip code 90210." and the system would comply.

My personal opinion on this is that a Genie Space would be the first thing I'd go for, and if that isn't enough, go for a Databricks App.

To prove out the point, I created a dataset of cars (in my situation, I used about 5 dimensions just to prove out the point), and then I tossed that one dataset into a genie space, and asked it to show me all the Gray Toyotas. The output image is attached... notice that it was smart enough to replace my ask (gray) with the closest listed color (silver), and it even explained why it searched for silver instead of gray.

After it gave me this list, I asked it to further refine it to only hybrid or electric 2025 models, and it complied without issue.

Long story short, a dashboard is probably the wrong tool for this particular job. Go for a Genie Space.

Re: Dynamic Global Filters

Stanciu_Cristi — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 09:02:24 GMT

Thank you, David, for your insightful response. I found your perspective very valuable and it was helpful to review alternative viewpoints on this topic.
I have already created a Genie space where users can freely ask and extract the data they need from the dataset. I will further explore the Databricks App feature to assess how it can provide users with the flexibility to interact either through natural language or through manual filtering and data manipulation.
Your input has helped me move closer to my objective and I will review this feature in more detail to understand how to leverage it most effectively.