In this video, Allison Gonzalez from Pragmatic Works highlights the exciting new updates to the Matrix visual in Power BI, introduced in the May 2024 update. If you're a fan of pivot tables in Excel, you'll love these new features that bring the Matrix visual closer to the flexibility and layout options of pivot tables. Let's explore these new changes!
Key Updates to the Matrix Visual in Power BI
- New Layout Options: Power BI now offers three layout styles for the Matrix visual—Compact, Outline, and Tabular—mimicking the options in Excel’s pivot tables. Compact is the default layout, but you can switch to Outline or Tabular for more structured and spaced-out views.
- Repeating Row Headers: With the Outline and Tabular layouts, you can enable the "Repeat Row Headers" option, which repeats the top-level row headers for each row, making your reports easier to read.
- Insert Blank Rows: You can now insert blank rows between elements, giving your data more space to "breathe." This makes the Matrix visual cleaner and easier for end users to interpret, especially when dealing with large data sets.
How to Access the New Layout Options
- In Power BI, open your Matrix visual and navigate to the Formatting pane.
- Expand the Layout section and select one of the three new layouts: Compact, Outline, or Tabular.
- Enable Repeat Row Headers if you're using the Outline or Tabular layouts for better data clarity.
- Go to the Blank Rows section to insert space between different elements in the Matrix.
Why These Updates Are a Game Changer
These updates bring more flexibility and customization options to the Matrix visual, making it more powerful and comparable to Excel's pivot tables. Whether you're organizing data for readability or making reports more visually appealing, these new features will help you achieve that.
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