Power BI has a LOT of chart types. More than 30 of them. So, picking the correct chart for a data analysis situation is hard. Here is a picture of a frustrated Power BI developer trying to figure out the right chart for her data analysis.
In this article, let me explain when & how to use these Power BI charts along with my top tips to make them.
The Power BI Visualization (Charting) Options
Here are the 30+ charting options in Power BI (as of July 2023). In this article, I am going to cover a majority of them.
We can categorize these charts into below groups.
- Bar / Column Charts 📊
- Line & Area Charts 📈
- Pie & Donut Charts 🍩
- Card Visuals 💳
- Tables & Matrices 📰
- Scatter (XY) plots
- Maps 🗺
- Everything Else
Let’s understand when & how to use these charts now.
Bar & Column Charts in Power BI
When: Use them to compare things
Examples
Top Tips
- Use the “Legend” option to split the chart
- If you put more then one field in the “axis”, you can drilldown on the charts.
- You can also split the chart into many using the “small multiple” option. See this video to learn more.
- When using “time” or “date” axis, try the column charts instead of bar charts.
Line & Area Charts in Power BI
When: Use them to see the trends
Examples
Top Tips
- Convert line to “stepped” line chart by enabling the “stepped” option in formats.
- Enable markers to improve the line chart readability.
- When you have a line chart with date axis, you can use the “analytics” options to introduce forecast or trend lines.
- Don’t make line chart with “things” on axis. They are meaningless (most of the time).
Pie & Donut Charts
When: To understand the full picture & contribution
Examples
Top Tips
- Always customize the labels and legend to get best look for your pies (or donuts)
- Avoid making too many slices. No one likes a tiny slice of pie.
Card Visuals
When: To share single numbers, KPIs & messages
Examples
Top Tips
- Add context to your cards whenever possible. This is a powerful way to engage your audience. Read this article for more.
- Power BI recently introduced a “NEW Card” visual. Give it a try. It lets you build cards with more formatting options and it is faster than regular cards.
Table & Matrix Visuals in Power BI
When: To show details
Examples
Top Tips
- Adjust row padding on tables & matrices to make them look easy on eyes.
- Add conditional formatting to one or two fields to elevate the data.
- Apply correct sort order on your tables. If you hold SHIFT while sorting the tables, you can sort on multiple columns!
- When you have lots of data, Filter your tables down to just important points.
Power BI Maps
When: To explain geographical data
Examples
Top Tips
- Power BI has a lot of map visuals. Try them all to see which one gives you best fit for your data. My favorite is the new Azure Map Visual. Learn more about it here.
- While maps are useful, I find them clunky. So try tables or other charts from time to time.
- Do not overlay useless information like traffic on to maps. Keep them light so the focus can be on the data.
Scatter (XY) Plot in Power BI
When: To explain 2 dimensions in one picture & to explore relationships
Examples
Top Tips
- XY plots are great for exploring relationships. But remember the golden rule – Correlation is not same as causation.
- If you have a Date dimension, use it on the “Play Axis” option to make a cool animated XY graph in Power BI.
Waterfall Chart
When: To explain how things have changed from one point / place to another.
Examples
Top Tips
- Use the “explain” feature of Power BI to auto-generate useful waterfall graphs for you.
Don't forget
Don’t forget title, sub-title, legend, labels & tool-tips.
These can make or break a chart.
Examples
Top Tips
- Don’t settle for default titles. Write a great title & subtitle on your charts to elevate them.
- Highlight important data points using conditional formatting feature. Here is a tutorial.
- Set up a tooltip page to further explain your data. Here is a tutorial on Power BI Tooltips.
Everything Else...?
Use with caution.
When in doubt, try them with your audience, get their feedback and proceed as needed.
Demo Workbook with all these charts
Here is a Power BI workbook with all these visuals. Check it out to learn a bit more.
When & How to use Power BI Charts - Video
I made a short & useful video on all of the important chart types in Power BI. Check it out below for some extra tips, pointers and information on when & how to use Power BI visuals.
Watch it below or go to my channel.
More Resources on Power BI
- Course: I run an online Power BI course to make you awesome with it. Check out the program and sign up today to learn Power BI, the right way.
Here are some articles & videos to help you master Power BI:
13 Responses to “Convert fractional Excel time to hours & minutes [Quick tip]”
Hi Purna..
Again a great tip.. Its a great way to convert Fractional Time..
By the way.. Excel has two great and rarely used formula..
=DOLLARFR(7.8,60) and =DOLLARDE(7.48,60)
basically US Account person uses those to convert some currency denomination.. and we can use it to convert Year(i.e 3.11 Year = 3 year 11 month) and Week(6.5 week = 6 week 5 days), in the same manner...
This doesn't work for me. When applying the custom format of [h]:mm to 7.8 I get 187:12
Any ideas why?
@Jason
7.8 in Excel talk means 7.8 days
=7.8*24
=187.2 Hrs
=187 Hrs 12 Mins
If you follow Chandoo's instructions you will see that he divides the 7.8 by 24 to get it to a fraction of a day
Simple, assuming the fractional time is in cell A1,
Use below steps to convert it to hours & minutes:
1. In the target cell, write =A1/24
2. Select the target cell and press CTRL+1 to format it (you can also right click and select format cells)
3. Select Custom from “Number” tab and enter the code [h]:mm
4. Done!
Hi, sorry to point this out but Column C Header is misspelt 'Hours Palyed'
good one
So how do I go the other way and get hours and minutes to fractional time?
If you have 7.5 in cell A1,
- Use int(A1) to get the hours.
- Use mod(A1,1)*60 to get minutes.
If you have 7:30 (formatted as time) in A1
- Use hours(a1) to get hours
- Use minutes(a1) to get minutes.
I had the same issue. You can solve it by changing the format as described above:
Right click cell > Format Cells > (In Number tab) > Custom > Then enter the code [h]:mm
([hh]:mm and [hhh]:mm are nice too if you want to show leading zeros)
Thanks guys, these are the tips I'm looking for.
...dividing the number of minutes elapsed by the percent change is my task - "int" is the key this time
It doesnt work for greater than 24 hours
It returns 1:30 for 25.5 hours. It should have returned 25:30
Ideally I would right function as
=QUOTIENT(A1,1)&":"&MOD(A1,1)*60
Sorry, replied to wrong comment....
----
I had the same issue. You can solve it by changing the format as described above:
Right click cell > Format Cells > (In Number tab) > Custom > Then enter the code [h]:mm
([hh]:mm and [hhh]:mm are nice too if you want to show leading zeros)
Clever use of MOD here to extract the decimal part of a number. Divide a number containing a decimal by 1 and return the remainder. Humm. Very clever.
Thanks very much, extremely useful !