One common request I have from report consumers, is to be able to set the date slicer in a report to default for todays date. It can be a less than optimal experience for the user if they have to remember to change the date slicer to todays date every time they view a report. Power BI doesn't offer this option as a function in the date slice. In fact, it was requested by users in 2015 and is still under review by the Power BI team. You can track the request here: https://ideas.powerbi.com/ideas/idea/?ideaid=39ba67cf-724e-4b6c-9906-51163749f759.
Fortunately, there are a few solutions to this problem and I will review some options in this post.
Relative date filter is an option. This is a great built in function in the date slicer (or in the filter panel), but it comes with a limitation. It only gives the user an option to pick a date range, say the last 30 days. If a user wants to review a specific day or a specific week, then the relative date filter is not the right option.
One way to solve the problem is to use a Calculated Column using DAX:
SlicerDate = IF(‘Table’[Date]=TODAY(),”Today", ‘Table’[Date])
The DAX query creates a calculated column where it will say Today for todays date and all other days, it will show that date. Please note that you will need to assure that the report gets updated daily. And I recommend to have a timestamp on the report so that users that share the report via PDF and Power Point can show what date they are showcasing.
The trick here is to have the date slicer picked as Today and then publish the report. This will assure that the default selection is in fact "Today".