Visual Format settings are reset after closing and opening

[matthias_vc]

Hi, I've made a Custom visual that Looks quite ok and has about 60 Format settings that a user can vary depending on their preference.
It all worked perfectly untill I saved a PBI file with this visual and opened it up again. All the settings were back to default. Any ideas on what I did wrong?
below is the general scheme of how my code looks like related to the settings:

...
interface Viewmodel {
    ...
    settings: MSTASettings;
}
interface MSTASettings {
    lines: {
        show: boolean;
        ...
       }
    ...
}
let defaultSettings: MSTASettings = {
    lines: {
        show: true,
        ...
       }
    ...
}
export class Visual implements IVisual {
    constructor(options: VisualConstructorOptions) {
    this.mstaSettings = <MSTASettings>{};
    ...
    }
    public enumerateObjectInstances(options: EnumerateVisualObjectInstancesOptions): VisualObjectInstanceEnumeration {
    let objectEnumeration: VisualObjectInstance[] = [];
    switch (options.objectName) {
        case 'lines':
            objectEnumeration.push({
                objectName: objectName,
                properties: {
                    show: this.mstaSettings.lines.show,
                    ...
                },
                selector: {}
            });
            break;
        ...
    return objectEnumeration
    }
    public update(options: VisualUpdateOptions) {
        let viewModel = this.getViewModel(options);
        let settings = this.mstaSettings = viewModel.settings;
        ...
    }
    private getViewModel(options: VisualUpdateOptions): Viewmodel {
        let viewmodel: Viewmodel = {
            ...
            settings:<MSTASettings>{},
            ...
        };
        viewmodel.settings = {
            lines: {
               show: getValue<boolean>(objects, 'lines', 'show', defaultSettings.lines.show),
                ...
            },
            ...
        }
        ...
        return viewmodel;
    }
    function getValue<T>(objects: DataViewObjects, objectName: string, propertyName: string, defaultValue: T): T {
        if (objects) {
            let object = objects[objectName];
            if (object) {
                let property: T = <T>object[propertyName];
                if (property !== undefined) {
                    return property;
                }
            }
        }
        return defaultValue;
    }
}

Note: I didn't use the latest version as I started this project a couple of years ago and only now found the time to tweek it. 
Note2: I tried getting rid of the line In the Constructor. My code still worked, but the issue remained the same.

[GrowthNatives]

Hi @matthias_vc , i understand you got stuck with Visual Format settings reseting after closing and opening.

Let's see why it happens

Your visual resets to default because objects (the stored format settings in the DataView) aren’t being read correctly in getViewModel(). When Power BI reopens the file, it tries to restore settings from metadata.objects, but your code always falls back to defaultSettings.

Quick fix

1. Read objects properly
   In update():

   const dataView = options.dataViews && options.dataViews[0];
   const objects = dataView?.metadata?.objects;
   let viewModel = this.getViewModel(options, objects);
   this.mstaSettings = viewModel.settings;

   Pass objects into getViewModel().

2. Make sure names match capabilities.json
   Object names like 'lines' and property names like 'show' must match exactly (case-sensitive).

3. Use correct selector
   In enumerateObjectInstances:

   selector: null

   This ensures settings are stored globally, not per-data-point.

4. Don’t overwrite settings
   Don’t reassign this.mstaSettings to defaults anywhere after reading from the model.

To confirm it’s fixed

Change some visual settings → save PBIX → close → reopen.
If they persist, the issue’s resolved.

Essentially:
Ensure your visual reads metadata.objects, matches names from capabilities.json, and uses selector: null.
That’s what allows Power BI to restore formatting after reopening.

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