Forum Discussion
Date Formatting - Limited Options
You can always use a custom date format which can be applied globally or just within the visual. Note: Custom data format within the visual for month requires uppercase M.
Community ChampionHi Specker,
You shouldn't need to create a separate text column for this.
The custom format option still exists, but in the newer visual formatting experience you can set it under Format visual → General → Data format, select your Date field, choose Custom, and enter the format code there.
One small gotcha with the current implementation: Microsoft's custom format string documentation says visual-level date formatting currently uses .NET syntax, so use:
MMM ddrather than.
mmm ddAt the visual level, uppercase M represents the month.
If you set the format at the model level instead, Power BI currently uses the VBA-style syntax, where mmm dd is valid.
Either way, I would format the original Date column rather than create a text version with FORMAT(). That keeps the underlying field as a real date, so chronological sorting still works correctly.
AI-assisted drafting: AI was used to help structure and phrase this response. I reviewed and validated the technical content before posting.