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New card visual | Public preview

Headshot of article author Miguel Myers

Get ready to experience a new level of visual excellence with the latest addition to Power BI Desktop – the stunning new card visual! The core visuals team has been hard at work, crafting this masterpiece from the ground up. And now, in the June 2023 release, you’ll be able to see their vision come to life. With its sleek design and unparalleled functionality, the card visual is set to revolutionize the way you interact with your data using cards. Get ready to be amazed!

Feature overview

The card visual is one of the most used visuals in reporting. However, it has not been updated since its creation, which has led our users to overlap multiple visual elements or rely on custom visuals to create their own card visuals. This approach decreases report performance and makes reports less accessible, particularly for screen reading and keyboard navigation. With the new card visual, you can display multiple cards in a single container and have full control over every component of each card. This updated approach improves report performance making it easier for all users to access and interact with the data.

  1. Overlapping multiple visual elements to create a customized card visual
  2. New card visual

Set up instructions

To access the new card visual, you can find it in the visual gallery, either in the ribbon or the on-object dialog. The preview feature is already turned on by default, to encourage more users to try it out and provide feedback. As this addition does not affect existing card visuals, we believe it will not cause any disruption to the user experience.

This image depicts the recently added visual icon located at the end of the core visuals gallery in the on-object dialog.
New card visual icon

However, if you prefer to disable the preview, or control when you see it, you can still find toggle under Options > Preview features > New card visual.

This image shows the new card visual option located at the end of the preview features in the options menu.
New card visual as preview feature option

Building a new card visual

To start building a visual, you have three options: 1) insert a new visual from the ribbon and add fields, 2) right-click on the canvas and select “add visual”, or 3) check or drag fields from the data pane and then select the new card from the on-object dialog.

A screenshot of Power BI Desktop displaying three sources to create the new card visual: the top banner, the canvas on-object, and the left build pane.
Sources to create a new card visual

The new card visual can support multiple fields, and their order is based on the order they appear in the data field well.

This image displays the on-object dialog with two fields below the data field well. A new field is being dragged into it to display three cards instead of two, with the cards shown in the same order as they appear in the field well.
Adding multiple cards inside of a new card visual and sorting its content

Formatting the new card visual

To change the style of your new card, follow these simple steps: first, click on the on-object edit icon. Then, click on the ‘More options’ button. This will open the format pane, where you can see all available formatting settings. From there, you can easily customize the style of your card.

This screenshot displays two ways to start editing the new card visual. The first is by clicking the edit icon in the on-object experience, while the second is by opening the format pane and selecting the card visual from there.
Ways to format a new card visual

The new card visual comes with special surprises that include the ability to customize the shape corners to achieve your desired style with precision control.

This image displays the format pane with the shape settings for the card visual. The top right and left corners are set to be rounded by 10%, resulting in all cards being rounded only at the top while keeping the bottom two corners squared.
New card visuals’ shape edition

The new card offers a refined formatting settings for values and labels, with expanded support for conditional formatting and the introduction of font transparency.

This image displays the new formatting settings for the values and labels of the card visual. Under Values, font transparency, font alignment, conditional formatting for value decimal places, and Show blank as have been added. Under Labels, users can apply conditional formatting to the label text, apply font transparency, change the position, apply text wrap, and align baselines.
Values and Label properties of the new card visual

Customize your display units with precision control, thanks to the new custom option and ensure your cards display the proper content, even when no data is found, with the new ‘Show blank as’ feature.

This image displays the Display units dropdown in the formatting settings for the card visual. The 'Custom' option is selected, and a new setting called 'Format code' is visible, allowing users to enter custom codes. Additionally, the 'Show as blank as' option is highlighted.
‘Format code’ and ‘Show blank as’ settings

Choose from three dynamic layouts (Horizontal, vertical, and grid) and fine-tune your cards with precise control over padding, spacing, and text alignment.

This image displays the Layout section of the formatting settings for the card visual. There are three available options: Alignment, Layout style, and Space between cards.
New card visual’s layout settings

Take your design to the next level with the addition of an image and accent bar and all formatting settings can be defined through ‘Themes’.

This image displays three different styles that can be created using various format settings for the card visual. The top card shows the title of the group ('Human Resources'), with three individual cards below it ('Headcount', 'Turnover Rate', and 'Cost per Hire'), each with their own value, title, and icon. The left style is simple and clean, with no special effects. The middle style is more modern, while the right style is dark.
Multiple styles can be achieved with the new card visual.

 

Interactivity

Tooltips

The new card supports both default and report page tooltips. However, if you want to take your tooltips to the next level, you can assign ‘report page’ tooltips to each card. To do this, you must follow these steps: 1) design your tooltip page, and 2) link it with the field you want to connect it to.

This image displays the options that need to be selected to create a tooltip page for the new card visual. The page type must be set to 'Tooltip', and one of the values used in the new card visual (from another page) needs to be dragged into the 'Show tooltips on' field well.
Tooltip setting as page type

To update the tooltip for each field in your new card, return to the page that contains your new card visual. 3) Select the visual, 4) go to the format pane, navigate to Properties > Options, and 5) under Page, select Auto. This will automatically update the tooltip for each card that is assigned to a tooltip page.

This image displays one of the cards inside the new card visual, which is displaying a page tooltip. The 'Page tooltip' option is set to 'Auto'.
Linking tooltip pages to the new card visual

Drill through

To take advantage of the Drill Through feature and enable users to navigate across multiple pages, follow these steps: 1) open the General format settings to locate the Page Information section, then 2) select “Drill Through” as the Page Type, and finally, 3) Insert all the fields that you want to use for navigation into the field well.

This image highlights the formatting settings for setting up drillthrough in the new card visual. First, the 'Page information' section needs to be expanded. Then, the 'Page type' needs to be set up as 'Drillthrough'. Finally, the report creator needs to drag the values from the new card visual (typically located in another page) into the 'Drill through from' field well.
Setting up Drill through in the new card visual

If you have assigned the Drill Through field to other pages, every card associated with that field will have the capability to take you to those pages. To navigate to these pages, simply right-click on the card with the field assigned and select the page name under the “Drillthrough” option. This will allow you to easily access the information you need across multiple pages.

This image shows how users can activate more options on each card and select 'Drill through'. A menu will appear, displaying all the pages that the particular value has been linked to through 'Drill through'.
Activating Drill through in the new card visual

New card visual roadmap

Please note that the new card visual is planned to have multiple stages.

  • Stage 1 (current release) supports multiple cards in a single container and includes new formatting settings for value, label, and shape layout.
  • Stage 2 introduces indicator labels to add even more context and sub metrics to your callouts.
  • Stage 3 takes it even further with the ability to split cards into groups using small multiples.

Please share your experience and share with us how you are using this new visual so we can continue improving. Stay tuned for exciting updates!

Limitations and known issues

  • Currently, the shadow and glow effect can cause the size of all cards to change unexpectedly. Our team is actively working on a solution to this issue.
  • During the preview period, there will be some limitations and known issues.