How to hide column in matrix visual in PBI Desktop

[shaikhzdandg]

PBi Desktop Version 2.146.1026.0 64-bit (August 2025) 

I would like to hide 1 column named PlanNo on MATRIX VISUAL in PBI desktop. How do I achieve this.

What I have already tried

1 Used the strectch column so that it's not visible anymore by dragging the column so that the width size becomes 0

The disadvantage of this trick is you then disturb the column header for rest fo the column and theres no way to get the column header back to normal sizing (unless you remove the PlanNo column from visualistion) for eg: see below snip

You can see bu hiding the PlanNo column (be dragging using mouse click to make its width size zero 0, is not a good option as this then disturbs the entire header for the rest fo the column and makes it very huge and theres no option available to get this to normal size

Is there a way or tric in PBI Desktop so that I can hide this column (I cant remove this as other measure depends on this column for calculation etc) so that the entire column header stays as is

[danextian]

Hi @shaikhzdandg 

If that is a dimension and a number, create another column that returns a no width space repeated by the number in that dimension. For example:

REPT ( UNICHAR ( 8203 ), 'table'[your column] )

Rename the column for the visual to a space and reduce the width. If the width of the column headers are set to auto, the calculated column will still occupy a very small space as its values have no width. 

Another alternative is  to conditionally format the text color to transparent uising a measure

Transparent = 
"RGBA ( 0, 0, 0, 0 )"

. The column values in the image below are transparent. The column name in the visual renamed to a space. 

[Shahid12523]

To hide a column in a Power BI matrix without breaking layout:
Best method: Use a measure with SWITCH() logic that returns BLANK() for PlanNo, so it doesn’t render but still supports dependent calculations.

-Advanced: Use Calculation Groups via Tabular Editor to toggle column visibility dynamically.
-Avoid: Shrinking column width to zero—it messes up headers and layout.
-Hacky workaround: Overlay a white shape to visually block the column (cosmetic only).

[Ashish_Mathur]

Hi,

Rename that measure to make it of a very short length.  Turn off wrap text for that header.  Reduce the width of that column to 0.

[shaikhzdandg]

Thanks for your reply, No I dont want to calculate anything using Visual calculation. however I want to hide that PlanNo column from the matrix visaul withut removing it from the visullisation and without disturbing the column headers 

[v-tejrama · Accepted solution]

Hi @shaikhzdandg ,

I understand your concern. At the moment, Power BI does not provide a direct option to hide a column inside a Matrix while still keeping it in the visual. If the column is placed in the Matrix, it will always try to render. The trick of dragging the width to zero or renaming the column only hides it cosmetically and, as you noticed, disturbs the header alignment.

The cleaner workarounds are either to replace the column with a measure that returns Black() so it looks hidden but can still be used for your dependent calculations in the model), or to apply conditional formatting that makes the values transparent and rename the header to a space to keep the layout intact. Apart from these, there isn’t a native setting to fully hide such a column without removing it.

Thank you,

Tejaswi.

[v-tejrama]

Hi  @shaikhzdandg ,

I wanted to follow up and see if you had a chance to review the information shared. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, feel free to reach out.

Thank you.

[v-tejrama]

Hi  @shaikhzdandg ,

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.

Thank you,

Tejaswi.

[v-tejrama]

Hi  @shaikhzdandg ,

Just checking in have you been able to resolve this issue? If so, it would be greatly appreciated if you could mark the most helpful reply accordingly. This helps other community members quickly find relevant solutions.

Thank you.

[Aburar_123]

Hi @shaikhzdandg ,

Please follow the below solution.

Suppose i would like to hide Shipmode column from the below table

Rename the Shipmode column name to '.' and turn off the Wrap text option then reduce the shipmode column width to hide.

Thanks.

[Jihwan_Kim]

Hi,

I am not sure if I understood your question correctly, but please try using "hide fields from the visual" feature in visual calculation.

Please check the link down below whether it helps.

Using visual calculations in Power BI Desktop - Power BI | Microsoft Learn