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PBI_2K26
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1 month ago
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Create columns group

Hello Community, Is it possible to create custom groups or categories of fields in Power BI that are independent of the underlying tables? For example, I would like to cr...
  • SamInogic's avatar
    1 month ago

    Hi,

     

    Power BI doesn't currently support creating custom field groups/folders that span multiple tables in the Fields pane. Display folders are limited to organizing fields within the same table, and measures can only be organized into display folders within their own table.

    If your goal is to provide a more business-friendly experience without changing the star schema, here are a few options:

    • Display Folders: Organize columns and measures within each table. This helps reduce clutter but cannot group fields from different tables.
    • Perspectives (available with Analysis Services/Power BI semantic models via tools like Tabular Editor): Create a curated view of the model by exposing only the fields relevant to a particular audience. While perspectives don't create cross-table folders, they significantly simplify the field list for report authors.
    • Field Parameters: Useful for allowing users to dynamically switch between fields in visuals, but they don't reorganize the Fields pane.
    • Dedicated Measures Table: Store all measures in a single table and use display folders to categorize them. This is a common best practice, although it only applies to measures.

    Unfortunately, there isn't a native feature that allows you to create a logical folder such as Product_Datas containing columns from Product, Date, Customer, and measures while leaving those fields in their original tables.

    If you're migrating from another BI tool that supports virtual field groupings, the closest Power BI equivalent is typically a combination of Perspectives for a simplified model and Display Folders for organization.

     

    Hope this helps!

     

    Thanks!