Removing custom hierarchy layers from bar graph with custom visuals.

Hi mds1234 

From a logical standpoint (not just a technical one), it's not really possible to present a weekly accumulation if the user can’t see any reference to weeks. The moment you remove the week layer from the visual, you're essentially removing the meaning behind the aggregation. Yes — the DAX can still calculate based on fiscal weeks in the background, but for the end user, the result just becomes a confusing jump in values every 7 days without any visible reason. The context is lost, and so is the point of the aggregation.

What you can do instead is rethink the hierarchy structure:

• If you want to reduce clutter, you can build a simplified hierarchy like:

  • Year (top level)

  • Week in Year (as a single, flat level underneath)

• Or if monthly breakdown is important:

  • Year

  • Then a concatenated label like "W-X / M- Y"

• Another approach is to create a custom level like "Fiscal Week Label" that conveys week info compactly (e.g., “2024-Wk03”) without requiring a full hierarchy of Year > Period > Week.

This way, you're still giving the user the semantic clue of what’s being aggregated, even if the layout is simplified.

Also, regarding your choice of visual: if you’re showing a column chart, this becomes even more problematic.

Column charts are processed as isolated values — the brain doesn’t interpret them as part of a continuous sequence. If you're showing a cumulative or rolling value, it won’t be perceived correctly. The user will likely interpret each bar as a standalone number and try to compare individual bars rather than recognize a progression.

This gets even worse with clustered bar charts, where the only comparison the user can naturally make is within each group. The horizontal spacing breaks the sense of continuity, and any trend over time is harder to perceive due to the visual gaps and grouped layout.

If you want to show rolling or cumulative trends, a line chart will always be more effective — it's more aligned with how we perceive continuous data over time.

Let me know if you want help restructuring the hierarchy or building a calculated column to generate a cleaner Week label.

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Hi mds1234

Most custom visuals don’t give you direct control to remove specific hierarchy levels once the whole hierarchy is added.

• Instead of using the full hierarchy, just bring in the specific field you need for example, only the Week field, not the full Year > Week > Day setup. That stops Power BI from drilling automatically across the hierarchy.

• If the Week field alone doesn’t show what you need (like if it’s repeating across years), you can create a custom label in Power Query or DAX like:
  "FY Week" = "FY" & YEAR([Date]) & " - WK" & WEEKNUM([Date])
  That gives you something readable, and it also avoids triggering the auto drill paths.

• Some visuals (like Deneb or Charticulator) offer a bit more flexibility with formatting, but if you’re using something from AppSource, it's usually safest to pre-format your labels and avoid the hierarchy field altogether.