Dates, numbers and links
Values are shown with the format set in Power BI: where to change date and number formats, where the visual uses them, and how to make a column open as a link.
Formats are set in Power BI
The visual has no date or number format settings of its own. It shows a value with the format string of its column or measure, using Power BI's language setting. To change how a date, percentage or number appears, change its format in Power BI. Two displays have format options of their own on the Labels tab: probability and failure rate on a fault tree, and the sequence values on an event tree.
Select the column or measure
In the Data pane.
Set its format
On the Column tools ribbon, or Measure tools for a measure, choose a Format: a date pattern, Percentage, a number of decimal places or a thousands separator.
Leave the visual as it is
Nothing needs changing in the visual. The format arrives with the data.
Where formats are used
| Where | Uses the Power BI format |
|---|---|
| Tooltips | Yes |
| Node Inspector | Yes |
| Value annotations | Yes |
| Summary strip | Yes, for the values it counts |
| Rates and state probabilities drawn on a Markov diagram | Yes |
| Label and Secondary label | No. The value is shown as Power BI sends it. |
| Conditional formatting rules | No. Rules compare the stored value. |
Dates
In tooltips, the Node Inspector, value annotations and the summary strip, a date uses its column's format. A date with no format string is shown as day, short month and year, in the language of the viewer's browser.
A date mapped to Label or Secondary label is written out in full, with a time. To show a formatted date on the node itself, add the column as a value annotation, or map a calculated column that turns the date into text:
Last Verified Text = FORMAT ( Register[Last Verified], "dd MMM yyyy" )If a date column arrives in the well as Year, Quarter, Month and Day, select the arrow beside it and choose the column's own name instead of Date Hierarchy.
Numbers and percentages
A format changes how a number looks, never the number itself. Store a percentage as a fraction, 0.96, and give the column the Percentage format to show 96%. A column that stores 96 with the Percentage format is shown a hundred times too large.
Conditional formatting rules compare the stored number. For Health stored as 0.96, a rule for anything under 80% is written Less than 0.8.
Links
Select the column
In the Data pane.
Set Data category to Web URL
On the Column tools ribbon.
Bind it to the visual
In any well. It needs no mapping.
In the Node Inspector the value becomes a link, and selecting it opens the address through Power BI. Only addresses beginning https:// become links; http:// and anything else stay as plain text. Tooltips, labels and value annotations always show the address as text.