Welcome to the April 2022 update. We are excited to announce New format pane and Power BI Goals updates, tooltips drill actions support for more build-in visuals, error bars for clustered column and bar charts preview feature, general availability of Dynamic M query parameters. There is more to explore, please continue to read on.

Reporting

New Format Pane – Updates

The new format pane has been in preview since November and was turned on by default for users in February’s release. As a heads-up, we plan to make it generally available (GA) in May which means users will no longer be able to switch back to the old format pane.
Please submit your feedback directly in the comments of this blog post or add to the discussion via our “share feedback” link next to the preview switch so we can continue capture any issues you encounter before GA.

Coming soon! – user preference setting to expand all sub-categories by default

To address the overwhelming feedback, we’ve been hearing about the new sub-categories adding extra clicks, we will be adding a user preference setting in next month’s release (May) to allow all sub-categories to remain expanded when you open a card. This should feel familiar to the old format pane behavior.

Current default (setting off)

If preferred, user can turn setting on

Only the first sub-category is expanded by default to allow for quick scanning of contents

All sub-categories are expanded to reduce extra clicks

Improvements added this month include:

- Shape map custom color has been re-added
- Scatter chart “show blank values” toggle has been re-added
- Slicers with slider type (between, before, after) responsive toggle has been re-added
- Button icon size setting has been re-added
- Fixed bug causing delay in cursor position for text input boxes

Consolidated outline settings for Matrix and Table

We have consolidated the outline settings for matrix and tables to be set from the Grid card. Previously users would need to go to the Grid card to set the color and width then to each section of the matrix and adjust the border location. Now, users can adjust the borders for the whole matrix and tweak each section from the same place within the Grid card.

Before		After

New! Split for column grand totals and row grand totals for Matrix

Previously changing grand totals would affect both row and columns. Now, you can format each separately

Before	After

New! legend options: Top right and bottom right

Before	After

Tooltips now support drill actions for matrix, line, and area charts

Last year, we released a preview of the Modern visual tooltips feature that allows for datapoint drill down or drill through actions from the tooltip itself. The initial preview did not include drill support for a few of the built-in visuals; however, for this month we’ve now added this capability to more visuals:

Matrix
Line charts
Area charts
Stacked area charts

For more information how to enable this preview feature, check out our documentation. Also if you have any feedback, let us know in our community post.

Updates to required permissions when using composite models on Power BI datasets

So far, a user consuming a report that leverages a composite model based on a Power BI dataset required Build permissions (or Contributor role) on all datasets in the chain. We have heard your feedback loud and clear: the Build permission is overly permissive for a user that just needs to consume a report. Therefore, starting today, for datasets in Premium or PPU workspaces, a user that consumes a report that leverages a composite model based on a Power BI dataset is required to have Read permissions (or have the Viewer role) on all datasets in the chain.

Read more about this announcement in this post.

Error bars for clustered column and bar charts

Last month, we introduced the error bars preview feature for line charts to help you visualize the uncertainty in your data. Now, we’re happy to announce that error bars are available for clustered column and bar charts as well!

You can create error bars using the same method as with line charts: simply drag upper and lower bound fields into the field wells in the error bars card of the Analytics Pane. You’ll find a more limited set of options than with the line charts; after all, shade areas are not very meaningful with discrete columns. You’ll also notice that error bars are enabled specifically for clustered charts and not stacked, where such a visualization would be unclear about the categories being represented.

Bookmark navigator now shows last selected bookmark per group

We’ve been listening to your feedback on the new bookmark navigator. To better support interaction between multiple navigators, bookmark groups, and interaction with elements on the report, we now ensure that once a bookmark is clicked on the navigator, it will continue to stay selected, regardless of changes in the report state. The “active” bookmark in any navigator will continue to stay active until another bookmark contained within the navigator is selected, either from the navigator or the bookmarks pane. Before selecting any other bookmark, including those not in the bookmark group represented by a navigator, would clear the selections in the bookmark navigator. This small behavior change enables the use of multiple navigators targeting separate bookmark groups to operate and have independent “active” bookmarks.

For example, imagine you have two bookmark navigators, one which reflects the bookmark group you’ve made to filter a report page by country, and one which reflects the bookmark group you’ve made to filter by decade. Before, selecting a decade would clear the country selection, and vice versa, even if the filter being applied from the country selection is still active:

Now, however, both bookmarks (selected country and selected decade) will remain selected:

Note that you can still change the report state without selecting another bookmark to leave the state captured by that bookmark (for example, by manually changing a filter away from Europe trends to US trends). As in the present day, your bookmark navigators will still maintain their selection state.

Try out this updated behavior and let us know if it helps enable new experiences in your report design!

Data preparation

Dynamic M query parameters are now

We’re excited to announce that the Dynamic M query parameters feature is now generally available (GA)! As a refresher, this feature allows report viewers to dynamically set the value(s) for an M query parameter using filters or slicers. This can be especially helpful for those needing query performance optimizations without sacrificing report interactivity.

As part of this GA release, Dynamic M query parameters are now compatible with the following AI features:

Q&A
Decomposition tree
Key influencers
Anomaly detection

Here is an example from a report that is using a Dynamic M query parameter and setting the value of the M query parameter using the Color options slicer. In this example, we’ve selected the Color options to be either Blue, Multi, or Red, and the Q&A visual and decomposition tree are filtered to those values.

Thank you all for your feedback during our preview phase! You can learn more about the feature in our documentation.

Data connectivity

Autodesk Construction Cloud (New Connector)

The Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) Power BI connector allows customers with unified ACC accounts and BIM360 accounts to import their Data Connector extractions directly into Power BI. Data Connector allows teams to quickly extract project data across their entire account and with this certified connector, customers can now streamline the data extraction process and set a schedule for their Power BI data set to be updated automatically with the latest Data Connector extract. This greatly simplifies customers’ ability to gain valuable insights on their project data so they can make more informed business decisions.

Digital Construction Works Insights (Connector Update)

This release fixes an issue where the Digital Construction Works Insights connector was not able to successfully connect in Power BI Service.

Dremio, Dremio Cloud (Connector Updates)

The Power BI Certified Connector to Dremio has been updated. See notes from Dremio on updates to the connector below.

Users can now connect to Dremio from Power BI Service without requiring the on-premises data gateway.
Some users may experience a backward-compatibility issue with their existing connections and reports. You may need to re-enter your credentials and possibly re-publish existing reports once you have upgraded to use this new connector. Whether or not you are affected will depend on how your previous gateway was set up.

Service

Power BI Goals updates

This month we have two exciting updates to announce for Power BI Goals: additions for bulk updating capabilities and a helpful access and sharing banner.

Bulk updating

With bulk updating, you will be able to select multiple goals to make changes to due dates and owners, as well as delete multiple goals at once. We will be rolling out more capabilities in the coming weeks such as status changes, status rules, and more.

Updating sharing and access banner

We have included a helpful banner that calls out when goal owners do not have access to the scorecard that contains their goals. With a few clicks, you can now ensure that all owners can access and provide updates on their goals’ progress, making it easier than ever to keep your scorecard up to date.

Mobile

Mobile formatting options support visual interaction

We hope that you’re enjoying Power BI’s new mobile formatting options, and that your mobile optimized reports now look amazing when viewed on your mobile phone.
In this release, we’ve extended visual interaction support to the new mobile formatting. Now, when you use the new mobile formatting options to create a mobile optimized report, your visual interaction settings will be applied both in the mobile layout and when you view the report on your mobile phone.

Goals push notifications

Push notifications on the Mobile apps help you stay up to date with information that requires your immediate attention. In this month’s release we’ve added two new push notification types to the Mobile apps that are related to Goals:

Goal assignment notification: Whenever someone assigns you a goal, you’ll receive a goal notification on your mobile device. This way you’ll never miss when you’ve become a goal owner and are now accountable for that goal.
Notifications for mentions: Whenever you’re mentioned in a note attached to a new or existing check-in, you’ll receive a notification on your mobile device. Now, when someone mentions you, requesting your attention or comment, you won’t miss it. And you can reply directly from the app!

For both kinds of notification, tapping the notification takes you right to the goal’s details pane inside the scorecard, where you can see all the necessary information.

Visualizations

New visuals in AppSource

The following are new visuals this update:

Drill Down TimeSeries PRO by ZoomCharts

Visualizing a Power BI timeline is now easier than ever. Drill Down TimeSeries PRO by ZoomCharts lets you explore time-based data right down to the millisecond. Featuring vast interaction options and smooth animations, combine multiple chart types for the ultimate Power BI timeline experience. Switch from months to weeks, to days effortlessly to drill down into the data, and choose between panning and selecting as your filtering method.

Among the main features of Drill Down TimeSeries PRO you will find:

Multi-touch device friendly – get the same experience on any device.
Multiple chart types and combinations – column, area, and line charts. Includes stacking and clustering for all chart types.
Cross-chart filtering – instead of using slicers, select data points on multiple charts.
Static and dynamic thresholds – set up multiple thresholds to demonstrate targets or benchmarks.
Full customization – use rich customization options to combine multiple chart types, set thresholds, and convert GMT data to local time.

To evaluate the Power BI timeline capabilities of Drill Down TimeSeries PRO for free, start your 30 day trial period now. Download Drill Down TimeSeries PRO from the AppSource.

Learn More about Drill Down TimeSeries PRO.

PowerGantt Chart by Nova Silva

The Gantt chart is an excellent tool to visualize your program and project schedules and task dependencies. The horizontal bars show for each task/activity the period between the start and end date (or time). Icons can be used to represent milestones: important moments within your project timeline.

The PowerGantt Chart allows you to review both tasks/activities and milestones right in your Power BI reports. The PowerGantt Chart supports unlimited number of task/activities, hierarchy levels and number of milestones.

Key features of the PowerGantt Chart are:

Insight into your program and project schedules: high level overview at first and dive into details using the collapse/expand buttons. Zoom into specific periods using the dynamic zoom slider
Highly customisable: Add or remove columns, change colors of bars based on your own criteria, and change the date granularity
No need to learn a new interface. Configuration is the same as a standard Power BI Bar Chart. And of course, theme colors and settings are supported

Don’t hesitate and try the PowerGannt Chart now on your own project/program data by downloading it from the AppSource.

Questions or remarks? Visit us at: https://visuals.novasilva.com.

Other

Windows 11 support

Windows 11 introduces four high-contrast themes – Aquatic, Desert, Dusk, and Night sky, each with its new color palette that is distinctive from its counterpart in Windows 10. In this release, Power BI fully supports the new Windows 11 high-contrast themes and is compatible with Windows 10 high-contrast themes and custom themes. Colors of the window background, body text, highlighted text and background, hyperlink, disabled text, button text and background, and icons will adapt to the user’s system colors at runtime. As a result, users with low vision will have a smoother experience navigating through the Power BI app and utilizing all kinds of dialogues, regardless of the Windows operation systems they use. This change does not impact any report themes.

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Power BI April 2022 Feature Summary