Formatting, Themes & Conditional Formatting
Definition
Every visual has an extensive Format pane (paint roller icon) controlling its appearance in detail. Report-wide consistency is managed via Themes, and data-driven styling (colors/icons that respond to values) is handled via Conditional Formatting.
The Format Pane Structure
Select a visual > Format pane (paint roller icon) > collapsible sections:
General - visual/canvas size, position, alt text
Visual - chart-specific options (axis, legend, data colors, data labels)
General - title, background, border, effects (shadow), tooltips
"Format your visual" vs "General"
Newer Power BI versions split the pane into a Visual tab (chart-type-specific settings like axis/legend) and a General tab (universal settings like title/background/border that every visual type shares) - check both when hunting for a specific option.
Report Themes
View > Themes > choose a built-in theme, or "Browse for themes" to import a custom JSON theme file
Custom theme JSON for brand consistency
A theme file defines the color palette, default fonts, and default visual styles applied report-wide in one click - teams commonly build a company-branded theme JSON once and reuse it across every report, ensuring consistent colors without manually restyling each visual.
{
"name": "Company Theme",
"dataColors": ["#004B8D", "#5DA9E9", "#FFB81C", "#7F7F7F"],
"background": "#FFFFFF",
"foreground": "#252423"
}Conditional Formatting
Select a table/matrix column, or a card > Format pane > Conditional Formatting > choose a rule type
| Rule type | Effect |
|---|---|
| Background color | cell background shaded based on value (rules or a color scale/gradient) |
| Font color | text color shaded based on value |
| Data bars | an in-cell horizontal bar proportional to the value, like Excel’s Data Bars |
| Icons | small icons (arrows, traffic lights, etc.) shown based on thresholds |
| Web URL | turns cell text into a clickable hyperlink dynamically |
Example rule: Background color
Format by: Color scale (Min -> Max gradient) OR Rules (if/then thresholds)
Based on field: [Profit Margin %]
Minimum: 0%, red | Maximum: 30%+, green
"Format by: Field value" for fully dynamic formatting
Instead of a fixed color scale, you can point conditional formatting at ANOTHER measure (e.g. a measure that returns a specific hex color code per row based on custom business logic) for maximum flexibility beyond the built-in rule types.
Data Labels
Format pane > Data labels > toggle On
Display units: Auto, Thousands, Millions, Billions
Value decimal places
Label position (varies by chart type)
Tooltips
Format pane > Tooltips
Type: Default (shows field values automatically)
Report page (a full custom page shown as a tooltip - see 09-Visualizations-Chart-Types)
Titles, Borders & Backgrounds
General > Title: text, font, alignment, background color
General > Effects > Background: color, transparency
General > Effects > Border: color, radius (rounded corners), width
General > Effects > Shadow: adds a drop shadow for a "card" look
Gridlines & Canvas Settings
View tab (ribbon) > Show gridlines / Snap to grid - helps align visuals precisely while designing
View tab > Page view: Fit to Page / Fit to Width / Actual Size
File > Options and Settings > Options > Report Settings > Canvas size (default 16:9, 4:3, or custom)
Alt Text (Accessibility)
Format pane > General > Alt Text
Always fill in Alt Text for published reports
Screen readers use this to describe a visual to visually impaired users - a short, meaningful description (e.g. “Bar chart showing monthly sales by region”) makes reports genuinely accessible, and is increasingly expected in enterprise/government reporting standards.
Consistent Formatting at Scale - Format Painter
Select a fully-formatted visual > Format tab (ribbon) > Format Painter > click another visual to copy its formatting
Format Painter saves huge amounts of manual reformatting
Style ONE visual exactly as desired, then paint that formatting onto every similar visual on the page/report - much faster than manually replicating dozens of individual format settings on each new visual.