The April Power BI update brings some improvements to existing features. A handy new data modelling tool moves into general availability this month, and some preview features have received substantial improvements.
New format pane updates (Preview)
Several improvements have been made this month to Power BI's new format pane, including:
Re-adding custom colours to the shape map visual
Re-adding the "show blank values" toggle to the scatter chart visual
Re-adding responsive toggles (such as between, before, and after) to the slicer visual
Re-adding the button icon size setting
Fixing the delay in cursor position when editing text input boxes
Consolidating outline settings for matrix and table visuals
Splitting out formatting for column and row grand totals in matrix visuals
Adding new legend placement options - top right and bottom right
Error bars for clustered column and bar charts (Preview)
Last month, the Power BI team introduced the error bars preview feature for line charts to help visualize the uncertainty in a dataset. This month, they have announced that error bars are now available for clustered column and bar charts.
Creating error bars can be done using the same method as with line charts: drag upper and lower bound fields into the field wells in the error bars card of the Analytics Pane. There is a more limited set of options than the line charts - as shaded areas are not very meaningful with discrete columns. Error bars are specifically enabled for clustered column/bar charts and not stacked charts, where such a visualization would be unclear about the categories represented by the error bars.
The bookmark navigator now shows the last selected bookmark per group
To better support interaction between multiple bookmark navigators, bookmark groups, and interaction with elements on the report, the Power BI team have ensured that selecting a bookmark on the navigator will keep the relevant bookmark highlighted, regardless of other changes in the report state. The active bookmark in any navigator will remain active until another bookmark within the same navigator is selected, either from the navigator or the bookmarks pane. Previously, selecting any other bookmark, including those not in the bookmark group represented by a navigator, would clear the selections in the bookmark navigator. This behaviour change enables multiple bookmark navigators to target separate bookmark groups - operating independently and having two different active bookmarks.
For example, imagine you have two bookmark navigators - one which reflects the bookmark group created to filter a report page by country, and one which filters by decade. Previously, selecting a decade would clear the highlighted country and vice versa, even if the filter applied from the country selection is still active:
Now, however, both bookmarks (selected country and selected decade) will remain selected:
Note: changing the report state can be done by manually adjusting a filter without selecting another bookmark (e.g. manually changing a filter away from Europe trends to US trends). Bookmark navigators will maintain their current state until selecting another bookmark in that navigator.
Dynamic M query parameters are now generally available
The Dynamic M query parameters feature is now generally available! This feature allows report viewers to dynamically set the value(s) for an M query parameter using filters or slicers. This is especially helpful for those needing query performance optimizations without sacrificing report interactivity.
As part of this release, Dynamic M query parameters are now compatible with the following AI features:
Q&A
Decomposition tree
Key influencers
Anomaly detection
Below is an example from a report using a Dynamic M query parameter to set the value of the M query parameter using the colour options slicer. The colours Blue, Multi and Red are selected and the filtering affects both the Q&A visual and decomposition tree.
For the rest of the Power BI April 2022 update, click here, or if you would like to discuss Power BI for your business, email info@pt20.com.au or give us a call on +61 746 596 700.
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