Interactive and dynamic exploring of filter criteria for large amounts of numerical data having multiple dimensions is described. Exploration occurs without excessive amounts of computation or querying of a database based on a data set summary that may be obtained from a server in a search system and applied by a client device. A data set is summarized so as to capture relationships between distributions of items in the data set along multiple dimensions. To explore filter criteria, a user may interactively adjust a range of values that act as a filter criteria along a dimension and determine an effect on a distribution of items along another dimension. The client device may apply the data summary in reverse to determine, based on user input specifying aspects of a distribution along one dimension, filter criteria for another dimension that would result in the specified distribution.