Welcome to the March 2023 Power BI Feature Summary!

After almost 10 years, support for Windows 8.1 has ended on January 10, 2023. In line with this, we will stop support for Power BI Desktop on Windows 8.1 on January 31, 2024. After that, Power BI Desktop will only be supported on Windows 10 and newer. The January 2024 release of Power BI Desktop for Report Server will be the last release to support Windows 8.1, and this version will only receive security updates until January 2025 per the Modern Lifecycle Policy.

This release you’ll find On-object interaction, which allows you to right-click on a visual to access the format pane, updates to the way you can apply slicers on your reports using a new Apply All Slicers button, Multiple Audiences in the Power BI app, email subscriptions for scorecards, and the General Availability of Storytelling in PowerPoint. Read on for these features and more in Reporting, Data Connectivity, Service, Mobile, and Visualizations!

Reporting

Apply all slicers button, Clear all slicers button, and Optimization presets update

When we released the Public Preview of the Optimize ribbon with Pause visuals for authoring reports, many of you asked for a way to allow your report consumers to make slicer selections and have the report visuals only update when they have finished making all slicer selections. The wait is now over! We are happy to announce the availability of the Apply all slicers button!

The Apply all slicers button can be added in three ways:

From the Optimize ribbon > Apply all slicers button
From the Insert ribbon > Buttons > Apply all slicers
Or, simply by choosing the Apply all slicers action on any existing button in your report.

You can add as many of these buttons as you like to your report page. When at least one of them is visible on the page, all the slicers on your report page will take selection changes but will only apply them to the other report visuals when the button is clicked. If you hide or delete the last Apply all slicers button on a report page, then the slicers simply behave like they did before, generally instantly applying the selections as you make selections.

This Apply all slicers button is like the existing single apply button on slicers in that they both do not apply the slicer selections to other visuals until you click the button. Unlike the single apply button on slicers, the Apply all slicers button will allow you to make selections across multiple slicers and then apply them in one click! For the best query reduction experience with slicers, we recommend you use the Apply all slicers instead of the single apply button for slicers. The single apply button for slicers is still available and will continue to work on existing reports. The Optimization preset for Query reduction has been adjusted to no longer add the single apply button for slicers on slicers, and instead recommends the Apply all slicers button.

Additionally, a popular idea on the Power BI Ideas forum is for a Clear all slicers button, which has been also added with the Apply all slicers button! When there are several slicers on a report page and you want a way to quickly clear all their selections, add the Clear all slicers button and your report consumers can do so in one click!

Finally, the Optimize ribbon with Pause visuals, Optimization presets, and the quick access to Apply all slicers button is on by default as a preview feature starting this release.

Format Pane – new styling

To address customer feedback on the depth perceived by the white background and drop shadow treatment causing dizziness from the new format pane, we’ve darkened the style, and added borders instead of drop shadows when OS setting for reduced motion is enabled.

Current format pane	New format pane style	With reduce motion setting

On-object interaction (Opt-in)

Introducing On-object! The new way to build and format your visuals.

We’ve heard time and again from our user research studies that Power BI desktop is hard to use. We’ve also seen countless new users struggle to navigate our UI to perform simple actions such as completely missing the fields pane all the way on the right side of the screen, unable to add data to the correct field wells, fishing around the format pane to rename, change colors, or format text styles of their visual. These same users instinctively right-click on areas of the visual expecting a menu to help. Aligning to our new “Office-like” strategy, we bring you On-object, a new way to build and format visuals directly on the visual.

We invite you to try it out for yourself. Please give this a try by turning on the preview switch: File > Options and settings > Options > Preview Features > On-object interaction.

Visual container improvements

With this release, we are introducing three key features to help you customize your visuals’ container.

Subtitle

You can now turn on a subtitle that can be used to add extra context to your visuals. You’ll find the new “Subtitle” toggle in the Title settings card of the formatting pane.

Divider

To visually separate the visual header from its contents you can add a divider line. You can find the “Divider” option in the Title settings card of the formatting pane, below the new “Subtitle”.

Here’s the visual container with Subtitle and Divider on:

Spacing

In addition to the Subtitle and Divider on your visual container, you can control the space below each component. You’ll find the “Spacing” setting at the bottom of the Title settings card of the formatting pane.

Padding

You can now control the container’s margin to create a negative space making the visuals look more professional and appealing. You’ll find this new option in the Properties card of the formatting pane

Data Connectivity

Google BigQuery, Google BigQuery Azure AD (Connector Update)/

This update contains bug fixes on the Azure Active Directory Single-Sign On scenario.

Azure Databricks, Databricks (Connector Update)

The Azure Databricks and Databricks connectors have been updated. Below are notes from the Databricks team.

This update contains the following fixes and improvements:

Fixed DAX DAY, MONTH, YEAR queries. Now DAX DAY query works and MONTH and YEAR DAX queries generate more efficient queries pushed down to the Databricks SqlWarehouse.
Improved Native Query by caching the result of schema inference query instead of issuing multiple schema inference queries
Improved Native Query performance by utilizing LIMIT 0 query for schema inference

Dremio Cloud (Connector Update)

The Dremio Cloud connector has been updated. Below are notes from the Dremio team.

Dremio Cloud has now removed the Beta flag and is now generally available.

FactSet RMS (Connector Update)

The FactSet RMS connector has been updated. Below are notes from the FactSet team.

The FactSet RMS connector has been updated to include support for Contact data stored in IRN, as well as improvements to Notes and Custom Symbol retrieval.

SurveyMonkey (Connector Update)

The SurveyMonkey connector has been updated. Below are notes from the SurveyMonkey team.

Version 1.2
Major performance enhancements
Minor bug fixes
Support for the following SuveryMonkey features:
- Custom Variable exporting
- Sentiment analysis
- Tags

Service

Storytelling in PowerPoint

We’re thrilled to announce the General Availability of Power BI’s integration with PowerPoint that enables users to easily include interactive Power BI visuals in their PowerPoint presentations.

With the GA of the Power BI add-in for PowerPoint:

The Power BI/PowerPoint integration will be enabled in all Microsoft clouds.
You’ll be able to add single visuals to PowerPoint slides, not just complete report pages.
You can use smart insights to get a text narrative of the data displayed in the add-in.

Power BI org app Multiple Audiences

Following our last announcement in August of launching the Public Preview of Multiple Audiences for Power BI org apps, we are excited to share that this feature is generally available starting March! With this, the multiple audience feature will now be supported by Power BI Mobile. As stated, with multiple audiences for an App Power BI App author can create multiple audience groups within the same App and assign different permissions to each group.

Announcing new Scanner API scenarios

The Scanner API is part of the Power BI admin API. It enables administrators to efficiently and automatically retrieve valuable information about their organization’s Power BI assets, such as inventory, metadata, and lineage. In turn, they can leverage this information for their own custom-made solutions.

The API was developed with the aim of improving the efficiency and performance of the Power BI scan so that it could support large numbers of data assets while still conforming to the security practices of organizations. The scanner supports service principle authentication and incremental scanning, and returns metadata such as endorsement status, sensitivity label, etc.

The Scanner API reached GA over a year ago, and a growing number of organizations now actively use it to better understand their products and to get information that helps them achieve their governance goals.

To further meet your needs and follow up on your requests, we’ve added several new capabilities over the past few months. We now also support:

Additional artifact metadata: scheduled refresh settings, RDL data source properties
Dataset sub-artifact metadata: dataset tables whose Enable load property is set to OFF, RLS configuration
Dataset sub-artifact coverage: XMLA changes, Autogenerated datasets, Datasets created via Quick create and Quick share, Web modeling modifications
Datamarts support

The image below is an example for scheduled refresh settings for Power BI models (dataset, dataflow, datamart)

Email Subscriptions

This month we are excited to release email subscriptions for scorecards. Subscriptions enable you to receive email notifications and stay up to date on the scorecards that matter most to you and your team.

To set up a subscription, select the Subscribe button in the ribbon.

Then select Add a new subscription in the pane that opens on the right side.

add new subscription button in ui

Enter the details about the subscription such as the name for the subscription, subject and email message details. Then set the frequency on how often you want to receive the emails such as: hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, set a scheduled time for the subscription: on the hour, or at 15, 30, or 45 minutes past; AM or PM; and specify the time zone. Select a Start date and optionally, an End date for the subscription. You can also include a link to the scorecard in the email and give recipients permission to view the scorecard. Finally select “Save and close”. After saving, you can edit the subscription, turn it on and off or delete the subscription.

Recipients will receive an email from Power BI with a table containing the scorecard data such as metric name, status, values and due date. The table will show up to 50 metrics.

You can add up to 24 subscriptions per scorecard, with unique recipients, times, and frequencies for each subscription. You can see all the subscriptions by opening the Subscriptions pane from a scorecard in My workspace, and selecting Manage all subscriptions; or from under the Settings > Subscriptions tab in the upper right corner of the Power BI service.

Note that you can subscribe to scorecards if you have a Pro license or PPU license or if scorecard is in a workspace backed by Premium capacity. You can subscribe other team members if in addition to above, you are a Contributor, Member, or Admin role in that workspace. If the scorecard isn’t hosted in a Premium capacity, others must also have a Pro license. You can add other email addresses in the same domain to the subscription. If the scorecard is hosted in a Premium capacity, you can subscribe group aliases, whether they’re in your domain or not. You can subscribe external users if scorecard is hosted in a Premium capacity.

Mobile

Discover external orgs content in your mobile app

It has just gotten easier to access your external content from your Power BI mobile app. You no longer need to have a link to access such items – you can find them from within the app itself!

If you have access to items from external organizations, you can now have these items always show up for quick access on the app’s home page by default. Just tap the newly added drop down arrow on the third content strip to change Recommended to From external orgs. You can also access your external items by tapping More options… and selecting From external orgs.

Tapping an item takes you to the external tenant, where as a guest user you’ll be able to view all the content that’s been shared with you there.

Grant access on the go

You now get a push notification on your mobile app whenever someone requests access to one of your reports. Just tap the notification to respond immediately.

Visualizations (third-party visuals)

Financial Reporting Matrix v7.0

With its latest release, version 7.0 of the Financial Reporting Matrix has raised the bar once again. The “Export to Excel” feature is a tour-de-force, granting users the ability to effortlessly export their matrix, preserving its aesthetic and professional quality. With a few clicks, the matrix can be exported to Excel and is ready to play around with.

This version is a major step forward for its users. “Export to Excel” feature is a game-changer, set to be widely adopted and appreciated. Profitbase continues its tradition of delivering top-notch products that cater to the needs of its users.

Licensing through Microsoft is also possible with this version, allowing users to purchase single licenses.

Acterys Variance

KPI cards with planning and forecasting option. Switch between different display options: absolute, relative and waterfall in a vertical or horizontal small multiple display. Set cut off period and see projected results of your plan changes in real-time.

Features:

Analyze actual/target variances with support for small multiples and 4 visualization types (combined, absolute/relative variance and waterfall) and zoom in option.
Advanced forecasting and planning on any level by dragging on the bars. Set cut off periods see projections based on plan changes in real-time.
Fully configurable KPI indicator display
Option to display total across all cards.
Zoom into charts
Category drill down
Write back, planning and forecasting (requires Acterys subscription)
Supports all Power BI features like custom tool tips and drill through.

Feature Summary for Drill Down Combo PRO

Drill Down Combo PRO lets report creators build impressive charts of categorical data. Choose from multiple chart types and create column, line, area and their combination charts. Use vast customization options to make your chart unique while enhancing the readability of your data with features like conditional formatting and dynamic thresholds.

MAIN FEATURES:

Conditional formatting – compare results against forecasts by automatically adjusting formatting based on a numerical value
Full customization – customize X and Y axes, the legend, outline and fill settings
Choose normal, 100% proportional, or zero-based stacking
Set up to 4 static and/or dynamic thresholds to demonstrate targets
Customize multiple series simultaneously with series and value label defaults

POPULAR USE CASES:

Sales and marketing – sales strategies, results, marketing metrics
Human resources – hiring, overtime, and efficiency ratios by department
Accounting and finance – financial performance by region, office, or business line
Manufacturing – production and quality metrics

ZoomCharts Drill Down Visuals are known for interactive drilldowns, cross-filtering, and rich customization options. They support interactions, selections, custom and native tooltips, filtering, bookmarks, and context menu.

Gantt Chart by MAQ Software (PREMIUM)

We, at MAQ Software, are grateful for the tremendous support and feedback we have received from the community since we released our custom Gantt Chart visual.

As part of our commitment to meeting the evolving needs of our customers, we released a premium version of the visual with the following advanced features to take your work to the next level:

Progress bar – Accepts % and measure values between 0 and 1
Task status – Accepts categorical values for mapping status flags for each task
Milestones – Accepts up to 5 date fields for showing milestone shapes as per user settings
Configurable bar height – User setting to change the height of task rows
Category limit increased to 10 (from 4)

Figure 1: A screen capture image showcasing the premium features of the Gantt Chart by MAQ Software custom visual.

Source: Microsoft

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Power BI March 2023 Feature Summary