Matrix fixed column width keeps resetting

[terracottagull]

I was very excited to see the introducion of the fixed column width optin in the matrix visuals. 

However, I'm coming across some strange behaviour where all the cols corresponding to the 'row' variables keep resetting to the default width.

What I'm doing:

I have my Matrix layout set to 'Tabular'. 

Under Column width I select 'Fixed width' from the top option, then enable Custom widths. I input the different desired widths for the individual columns and it all looks great. However, as soon as I navigate away form the page, or close and reopen the .pbix file, the widths of the columns associated with the row variables reset to the Default width value. 

I have seen advice elsewhere to just set the Default to something more suitable, however, I have multiple row variables that contain data of very different length, so I can't set Default to a value that would suit all. 

Any thought or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[v-sgandrathi]

Hi @NicoleEdmonds,

Thanks for confirming you're seeing the same issue.

From your experience and the initial report, it seems that custom widths set for Matrix row-header columns using the new Fixed Width feature aren't always saved when you leave the report page or reopen the PBIX file. This indicates the issue might not be limited to one report and could be related to how the feature works right now.

Currently, we haven't found a reliable workaround to keep individual row-header column widths. If you haven't yet, you might want to submit a support ticket so the product team can look into it. 

If anyone has found a consistent workaround or has confirmation from Microsoft Support, please share here.

Thank you.

[NicoleEdmonds]

@v-sgandrathi - I am experiencing the same problem, not matter what I do, the column widths reset to the default in the matrix, which basically makes this feature mostly unusable to me.  

[v-sgandrathi]

Hi @terracottagull,

May we know if the support team was able to resolve your issue?

If a solution was provided, please consider sharing it with the community to help members facing similar challenges.

Thank you for your participation and cooperation.

[v-sgandrathi]

Hi @terracottagull,

Thank you for providing the additional information.

I see that your main concern is with the new Fixed Width functionality for Matrix visuals, rather than previous workarounds. From your description, it looks like the custom widths set for row-header columns are reverting to the Default Width after you leave the page or reopen the PBIX file, even though they apply correctly at first.

This doesn't seem to be the intended behavior. Currently, it appears that custom widths for row fields may not always persist, which could point to a limitation or issue with the feature's current implementation.

I would recommend submitting this through the Power BI Support channel so the product team can investigate whether this is a known issue with the newly released feature. Thank you for highlighting this behavior.
Create a Fabric and Power BI Support Ticket - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Thank you.

[Tobiasz]

I was excited to use this new feature and had meticulous applied it to about 45 columns across 3 matrices to line everything up perfectly, only for everything to be lost as soon as I went to the next report tab and then returned. Really disappointing to see that this long-awaited and long overdue feature just doesn't even work.

[oussamahaimoud]

Hi @terracottagull,

Hope you're doing well!

Here's a solution to try it step by step:

Disable Auto-size width: In the Matrix formatting pane, search for "auto" and turn off Auto-size column width. This is the first thing to verify, though even with "Auto-size column width" turned off, column widths can still reset under certain conditions.

REPT measure trick:

• Create a measure: ColWidth = REPT("X", N) sized to your longest value
• Turn on Auto-size width
• Add the measure to Values
• Turn off Auto-size width
• Remove the measure. This can make column sizes persist, including for new columns added after refresh. However, this trick targets value columns, not row-header columns specifically, results may vary for your use case.

Edit report metadata via PBIP format : Using the Power BI Projects (.pbip) format, you can directly set columnWidth properties in the layouts.json metadata file, which is more reliable than the UI for persistence. This is the most robust approach but requires working outside the UI.

Some useful ressources:

https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Desktop/Matrix-Table-resizing-columns-with-Autosize-column...

https://susheelaakulu.medium.com/fix-matrix-column-width-in-power-bi-5799921b7cf0

https://data-goblins.com/power-bi/set-column-widths

Hope this solution helps! Don't forget to accept as solution ✅ and give kudos 👍 in order to keep helping others.

Best regards,

Oussama (Data Consultant - E

[terracottagull]

Thanks @oussamahaimoud  while I'm familiar with this and similar workarounds, I am specifically interested in making things work with the new fixed width feature rolled out in May. 

[Kedar_Pande]

@terracottagull 

1. Set your Default width to fit the widest row column, then manually widen only the value columns. Ugly but stable.

2. Combine your multiple row fields into a single concatenated column in DAX or Power Query so you only have one row column to size.

[terracottagull]

Hi @Kedar_Pande, 

Thanks for you reply!

1 wouldn't really work, I need 400 vs 90 in col widths and have 3 row cols, so setting them all to 400 would would not be reasonable and push all of my actual values off the screen.

I have actually been using your option 2 for now. It is fine. But I was hoping that a newly rolled out feature would not require such workarounds...