Power BI – What new features has Microsoft given us in May 2020

By Scott Bryson, BI Developer, CSL

Power BI Update

With May’s release a little closer to April’s than usual, due to Covid-19, there are no huge changes with a lot of features moving from preview to live.

Features moved from Preview

Features previously in preview that have been moved to being generally available are: 
•    Filter pane migration is now complete
•    Decomposition tree 
•    Drill through button action

More details on these can be found in the link at the end of this article.

Here are the highlights

Just remember to enable any preview features in Power BI desktop settings! 

Apply all filters (preview)

Apply all filters is a new feature that will help optimize the filter pane query reduction by applying all filters changes at once.

Previously, you had two options for filter queries: apply basic filters instantly (the default option) or add an apply button to each basic filter. 

The first option to apply the basic filter instantly, was ideal for those who prefer instant interactivity over query reduction. The second option; add an apply button to each filter card, optimized query reduction instead. However, it required an additional click every time you needed to apply a filter.

Now, a new option has been added to add a single apply button to the filter pane, essentially allowing you and your end-users to apply all filter modifications at once. This capability will be useful if you want to defer when to apply filter changes, so you only have to wait once after you are ready to apply any filter changes to the report or visuals.

Note that you can set this this feature at a report-level, however, the feature will be off by default.
You can turn on this new option in Power BI Desktop by going to File > Options and settings > Options > Query reduction > Filters and selecting the option to Add a single Apply button to the filter pane to apply changes at once (preview).

Power BI Buttons now support fill images

power bi buttons

All buttons now support fill images. This can be super useful because you can now highly customize the look and feel of your button using fill images while also taking advantage of the built-in button states: default, hover, click and disabled (for drill through).

Drop shadow support for visuals

This month, a new formatting feature has been added to all visuals: drop shadows. Toggling this option on in the formatting pane will display a shadow behind the border of your visual.

In the Shadow tab, you can customize the look and feel of each shadow. You can choose between a number of pre-sets or adjust individual properties of the drop shadow with the Custom setting.

The Shadow tab controls whether the shadow appears in or outside of the visual border. 

Third Party Visualizations

New connector(s)

 7 New connectors are available:
•    Witivio connector
•    Linkar connector
•    Webtrends connector
•    Planview ProjectPlace connector
•    Shortcuts Business Insights connector
•    Vessel Insights connector
•    Zoho Creator connector

 

To Wrap It Up

For a full list, including any feature I did not touch on, here’s the official announcement:

https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-desktop-may-2020-feature-summary/ 

If you would like any more information on these features or Power BI reporting, please get in touch with us to see if we have something to suit your needs. 
Call us on 01483 528302 or email info@csl-uk.com.

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