Forum Discussion
Impactful Individualdynamic format string causing incorrect Y scale
Hi powerbiexpert22,
The problem is in the format string expression itself. It returns FORMAT(SelectedMeasure, ...), which is the already-formatted value (for example "12.3M"), not a format pattern.
Power BI then uses that text as the pattern for every number on the axis. Characters that aren't format placeholders are printed literally, so every tick shows the same "12.3M". That is the repeated value you are seeing.
current: format string expr -> FORMAT(value, "#,0.0,,M") -> "12.3M" axis tick 0, 5M, 10M, 15M -> each rendered with pattern "12.3M" -> "12.3M", "12.3M", "12.3M" ... fix: format string expr -> "#,0.0,,\"M\"" axis tick 5000000 -> "5.0M", 10000000 -> "10.0M"Return only the pattern, and use SELECTEDMEASURE() so it works no matter which measure the calc item or field parameter switches to:
VAR v = ABS ( SELECTEDMEASURE () ) RETURN SWITCH ( TRUE (), v < 1e3, "#,0", v < 1e6, "#,0.0,\"K\"", v < 1e9, "#,0.0,,\"M\"", "#,0.0,,,\"B\"" )Each comma after the 0 divides by 1,000. Literal letters belong in escaped quotes so K/M/B aren't read as format codes.
One more thing to expect: the axis uses a single format string for the whole axis, evaluated at the visual (total) level. If the total is in millions, all ticks show in M, even the small ones. That is usually what you want. If not, set the Y axis Display units manually and the data labels keep the dynamic format.
So my overall approach would be:
format string expression returns a pattern, never FORMAT() -> use SELECTEDMEASURE() + escaped "K"/"M"/"B" suffixes -> axis follows the total-level pattern; data labels per point -> override Y axis display units if the scale still looks offAI-assisted drafting: AI was used to help structure and phrase this response. I reviewed and validated the technical content before posting.
Community ChampionHi powerbiexpert22,
The repeated Y-axis value is most likely coming from the dynamic format string expression itself.
In a dynamic format string, the expression should return the format pattern, not the already formatted measure value.
At the moment, you are using FORMAT(SelectedMeasure, ...), so for a value such as 2,877,000 the expression can effectively return something like "2877K". Power BI then treats that result as the format string, which is why the same text can appear repeatedly on the Y-axis.
Try returning the format strings directly instead, for example:
VAR SelectedMeasure = [PCD YTD Actual]
RETURN
SWITCH(
TRUE(),
ABS(SelectedMeasure) < 1000, "#,##0",
ABS(SelectedMeasure) < 1000000, "#,##0,.0 K",
ABS(SelectedMeasure) < 1000000000, "#,##0,,.0 M",
"#,##0,,,.0 B"
)Microsoft shows the same pattern in the SELECTEDMEASURE documentation, where the dynamic format expression returns the format string itself rather than using FORMAT() to return the displayed value.
I would also check the visual's Y-axis Display units setting and set it to None while testing, because visual-level autoscaling can also affect how custom format strings are displayed. Microsoft documents that interaction in the dynamic format string guidance.
Your underlying measure can remain numeric; only the format string logic needs to change.
AI-assisted drafting: AI was used to help structure and phrase this response. I reviewed and validated the technical content before posting.