Is it possible to represent a windows file and folder structure in a report?

[jimmytwoburgers]

Hi,

I am trying to represent a folder and file structure in a report.  I want to be able to expand and minimise the folders.  Is this possible within PowerBI?  I have been playing around with Matrix Visual and Hierarchies and can't get it right.  

The data is already in a SQL database and I can export to Excel.   There are two tables, folders and files.

Folder table:   id_object, foldername, id_parent
Files table: id_object, filename, id_parent

I idealy want to display it in a matrix looking like this (ignore the size / type - don't need those)

Any help would be apprechiated.  Thanks

[v-priyankata]

Hi @jimmytwoburgers 

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Fabric Forum Community.

Please try below, For your reference, I’m attaching the .pbix file

• Add a column to distinguish between folders and files (e.g.,type="Folder" or "File")
• Combine both tables into a single table using Union in Power Query.
• Add Matrix to distinguish b/w Files and folders
  
  
  If this information is helpful, please “Accept as solution”  to assist other community members in resolving similar issues more efficiently.
  Thank you.

[DanielaOliveira]

Excellent question. Yes, it’s absolutely possible to represent a Windows-style folder hierarchy in Power BI using the Matrix visual with a parent-child hierarchy model.

Power BI doesn't directly support native "expand/collapse" like Windows Explorer, but with the correct data modeling, the Matrix visual behaves similarly, letting you expand folders into files.

---

🔧 How to Build Folder/File Hierarchy in Power BI (Step-by-step)

✅ Data Model Structure:

• Folders Table
  | id_object | foldername | id_parent |
  |------------|------------|-----------|

• Files Table
  | id_object | filename | id_parent |

---

🔗 Step 1: Combine Folder and File into One Table

Create a single table with both folders and files. Example using Power Query (Transform Data):

SELECT id_object, foldername AS Name, id_parent, 'Folder' AS Type FROM Folders
UNION ALL
SELECT id_object, filename AS Name, id_parent, 'File' AS Type FROM Files

Or merge them in Power BI using Append Queries.

---

🏗️ Step 2: Create Parent-Child Hierarchy

Power BI doesn't automatically build hierarchies from parent-child structures. You have to create a calculated column to build the hierarchy path.

In Power BI Model view, create a column:

DAX:

Path = PATH(Combined[id_object], Combined[id_parent])

🔎 Step 3: Break into Levels

Create levels for each depth:

DAX

CopyEdit

Level1 = PATHITEM(Combined[Path], 1, TEXT) Level2 = PATHITEM(Combined[Path], 2, TEXT) Level3 = PATHITEM(Combined[Path], 3, TEXT)

Add as many levels as the deepest part of your hierarchy.

---

📊 Step 4: Build Matrix

• Insert a Matrix visual.

• Add Level1, Level2, Level3, etc. into the Rows field in order.

• Add Type (optional) or file counts, sizes (if available) into Values.

Now folders and files will be shown like:

Root
└── Folder1
├── Subfolder1
│ └── FileA
└── Subfolder2
└── FileB

[KNP]

@jimmytwoburgers - there was a missing disclaimer from @DanielaOliveira's answer. Here, I'll add it...

"This answer was pasted directly from ChatGPT. ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info."