How to add Custom Icons to Column or Row Headers

[PrashanthDAR]

Hi Community,

I want to add icons at the column and/or row header indicating if it is positive or negative. For example, for a positive value, I want to show green coloured up arrow/triangle, for a negative value, I want to show red coloured down arrow/triangle.

I can add the icon to the values but am unable to use the green icon for positive. 

Any possible solution for the green ones.

Regards,

Prashanth 

[PrashanthDAR]

Does not work for me

[v-tsaipranay]

Hi @PrashanthDAR ,

 Apologies for the delay response and we appreciate your patience.

I understand your need to show positive/negative indicators (like green/red arrows) directly in the row or column headers.

Currently, Power BI does not support conditional formatting or dynamic icons in column or row headers—this includes colors, SVGs, or image URLs. These formatting capabilities are only supported in the values section of table and matrix visuals.

That said, a commonly used workaround is to simulate headers using dynamic values. Here's how you can do it:

1. Create a DAX measure that combines your label (e.g., "New Bookings") with a colored icon using Unicode or SVG.
2. Display this measure in the values area of a matrix visual, instead of the actual header.
3. Optionally, hide or de-emphasize the actual row/column headers, so the visual looks clean.

This approach won't put the icon in the header, but visually achieves the same result for report users. Here's a simple example using SVG icons:

DAXCopyEditIconHeader = 
VAR ValueCheck = SELECTEDVALUE('Table'[Your Column])
RETURN
IF(
    ValueCheck > 0,
    "<svg width='12' height='12'><polygon points='6,0 12,12 0,12' fill='green'/></svg> New Bookings",
    "<svg width='12' height='12'><polygon points='6,12 12,0 0,0' fill='red'/></svg> New Bookings"

)

You can then apply this via conditional formatting → Field value, or use visuals like the HTML Viewer from AppSource for richer formatting.

I hope this will resolve your issue, if you need any further assistance, feel free to reach out.

If this post helps, then please give us Kudos and consider Accept it as a solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

Thankyou.

[v-tsaipranay]

Hi @PrashanthDAR ,

I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions. If my response has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.

Thank you.

[v-tsaipranay]

Hi @PrashanthDAR ,

May I ask if you have resolved this issue? If so, please mark the helpful reply and accept it as the solution. This will be helpful for other community members who have similar problems to solve it faster.

Thank you.

[v-tsaipranay]

Hi @PrashanthDAR ,

I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions. If my response has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.

Thank you.

[v-tsaipranay]

Hi @PrashanthDAR ,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Fabric support. Also thank you @danextian  and @DataNinja777  for your inputs.

Currently, Power BI does not support conditional formatting (including icons or colors) on row or column headers in matrix or table visuals. Conditional formatting including dynamic SVG icons or image URLs is only supported in the values area of visuals.

If you're seeing success in the values, that's expected. However, for headers, the only way to include icons would be to embed them statically as part of your category values this won't reflect changes dynamically based on measure logic.

If showing these icons at the row level is critical to your report consumers, a possible workaround is to replicate headers inside the value cells using calculated measures or by redesigning the layout with a visual trick.

If this post helps, then please give us Kudos and consider Accept it as a solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

Thankyou.

[v-tsaipranay]

Hi @PrashanthDAR ,

I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions. If my response has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.

Thank you.

[danextian]

Hi @PrashanthDAR 

Currently, conditional formatting cannot be applied to column and row headers or categories—it is limited to values only. For the icons to appear alongside category names, they must already exist as part of your model. However, they will not be dynamic and won't update their colors based on any conditions.

[DataNinja777]

Hi @PrashanthDAR ,

In Power BI, adding icons to column or row headers based on positive or negative values can be achieved using Unicode characters, SVG formatting, or image URLs. One way to do this is by creating a DAX measure that dynamically assigns Unicode arrows depending on the value. You can use the following DAX formula:

Indicator = 
VAR ValueCheck = SELECTEDVALUE('Table'[Your Column])
RETURN
    IF(ValueCheck > 0, "▲", "▼")

This measure can then be assigned to the relevant field in the matrix visual to display the arrows. However, this approach does not allow for color customization. If you want full control over the color (green for positive and red for negative), you can use SVG images within a measure. The following DAX formula returns an SVG arrow that changes color based on the value:

IconMeasure = 
VAR ValueCheck = SELECTEDVALUE('Table'[Your Column])
RETURN
IF(
    ValueCheck > 0, 
    "<svg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' width='12' height='12'><polygon points='6,0 12,12 0,12' fill='green'/></svg>",
    "<svg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' width='12' height='12'><polygon points='6,12 12,0 0,0' fill='red'/></svg>"
)

To apply this measure, navigate to the conditional formatting settings of the desired field in Power BI, select "Field Value," and assign the IconMeasure measure. Alternatively, if you have custom icons stored as images, you can create a calculated column that selects the appropriate image URL based on the value, then set the column's data category as "Image URL" to display the icons directly in the visual. This method allows for more customization and flexibility in representing positive and negative values visually.

Best regards,