PowerBI Ambiguity

WishAskedSooner Correct on many levels. Microsoft is apparently not interested in fixing long-standing issues in Power BI. This includes these kinds of things, measure totals and ton of other wonkiness in the product. Instead, they are focused on Fabric and on "new gee whiz features" to generate hype or just pathetically dumb things like dark mode. This is the state of Power BI. Get used to it.

Hi WishAskedSooner ,
You raise a valid and widely shared concern about Power BI’s ambiguity in handling table columns, calculated columns, and measures when adding data to visuals. Microsoft’s UI often lacks clarity, especially in indicating what kind of data is accepted in different fields.

The "+Add data" prompt is misleading because it does not differentiate between table columns and measures, leading to user frustration when seemingly valid selections fail without feedback. A more intuitive approach would be for Power BI to dynamically gray out incompatible fields, provide error messages, or offer contextual hints explaining why a selection won’t work. This ambiguity becomes even more frustrating for newer users who may not fully grasp the underlying differences between calculated columns, table columns, and measures. Microsoft promotes Power BI as a user-friendly, drag-and-drop tool, yet its UX shortcomings create unnecessary confusion. Enhancing visual cues, validation mechanisms, and documentation within the UI would go a long way in reducing this friction and making the tool truly intuitive.