slicer dropdown width

[rishtinz]

I know this has been asked in the past and there is an idea pitched in but I was wondering if someone would know of a third party visual that could do the trick. Tableau has this feature built in the dropdown but in Power BI a dropdown slicer width is fixed to the width of the slicer object rather than to the longest value in the individual items in the dropdown. It affects end-user usability and interaction.

Sharing a couple screenshots of how Power BI dropdown behaves and one built in Tableau.

Power BI

Tableau

[v-dineshya]

Hi @rishtinz ,

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

Hi @Nasif_Azam , Thank you for posting response in community.

Hi @rishtinz , In addition to @Nasif_Azam response, i am adding some more points.

In Power BI the dropdown slicer width does not auto-adjust to fit the contents. Instead, it's constrained by the width of the slicer visual itself.

Please try alternative below options.

1. Use a Custom Visual Slicer that can dynamically resize or wrap text better than the default slicer:

Smart Filter Pro by OKViz (paid version): Supports advanced filtering, Searchable dropdown, Auto-complete and better UI for long values.

Chiclet Slicer: While not a dropdown, it allows more control over layout and item display.

2. Create a table visual (single-column) with row selection as a slicer substitute Or a card with buttons or custom bookmark navigation

3. Enabling tooltips to show the full value when hovered. Using DAX to create a full label that appears in a card/tooltip.

Please refer below custom visual links for your reference.

Chiclet Slicer

Smart Filter by OKVIZ

If this information is helpful, please “Accept it as a solution” and give a "kudos" to assist other community members in resolving similar issues more efficiently.
Thank you.

[rishtinz]

Hi @v-dineshya thank you for responding to this.

1. I won't like to pay additional fees on top of what our organization pays for pro and premium licenses of power bi, which is in thousands of dollars. 

2. and 3. it sounds like these alternative methods would be best suited for a 'list' items not dropdown. 

thanks

[v-dineshya]

Hi @rishtinz ,

Thank you @Nasif_Azam  for the helpful response! 
As @Nasif_Azam  suggested, we would recommend submitting your detailed feedback and ideas through Microsoft's official feedback channels, such as Microsoft Fabric Ideas. Feedback submitted through these channels is frequently reviewed by the product teams and can contribute to meaningful improvements.

https://ideas.fabric.microsoft.com/ideas/search-ideas/ 

If this post helps, then please consider Accepting as solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

Thank you for being a valued member in Microsoft Fabric Community Forum!

Regards,

Dinesh

[rishtinz]

This is not a solution to my problem. I do not accept this as a solution!!!

[v-dineshya]

Hi  @rishtinz ,

Now the thread is in open state. please confirm if you've submitted this as an idea in the Ideas Forum? If so, sharing the link here would be helpful for other community members who may have similar feedback.

If not yet submitted in the Ideas Forum. Please submit.

Fabric Ideas - Microsoft Fabric Community

When ever the issue is resolved. Please let us know. then we will close the thread, till then the thread will be in open state. Please do let us know if you have any further queries

Regards, 
Dinesh

[rishtinz]

Apparently there is tons of ideas shared for the same issue. Votes are scattered across multiple idea posts, which i find unfair. I think admins here shouldn't be asking people to post an idea rather, find the one idea that matches their issue and ask them to vote there.

Below are all the dropdown width related ideas submitted so far.

https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Fabric-Ideas/Text-wrap-and-or-Auto-size-width-for-Slicer-V...

https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Fabric-Ideas/Slicer-dropdown-width-cuts-short-based-on-sli...

https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Fabric-Ideas/Expand-Slicer-Dropdown-When-Viewing-to-Fit-Wi...

https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Fabric-Ideas/Dropdown-lists-should-not-be-limited-by-the-w...

https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Fabric-Ideas/Dynamic-slicer-width/idi-p/4463448

https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Fabric-Ideas/DropDown-Width-Option/idi-p/4749053

[v-dineshya]

Hi @rishtinz ,

Here is an idea (Dropdown lists should not be limited by the width ... - Microsoft Fabric Community) similar to yours that you can vote for. If an idea receives high votes from other customers, it is likely that the Microsoft Product Team will consider it when designing future versions.

Regards,

Dinesh

[v-dineshya]

Hi @rishtinz ,

Could you please confirm if you've submitted this as an idea in the Ideas Forum? If so, sharing the link here would be helpful for other community members who may have similar feedback.

If not yet submitted in the Ideas Forum. Please submit.

Fabric Ideas - Microsoft Fabric Community

Thank you for being part of the Microsoft Fabric Community.

[v-dineshya]

Hi @rishtinz ,

Could you please confirm if you've submitted this as an idea in the Ideas Forum? If so, sharing the link here would be helpful for other community members who may have similar feedback.

If we don’t hear back, we’ll go ahead and close this thread. For any further discussions or questions, please start a new thread in the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum , we’ll be happy to assist.

Thank you for being part of the Microsoft Fabric Community.

Regards,

Dinesh

[Nasif_Azam]

Hey @rishtinz ,

You’re absolutely right. Power BI's default dropdown slicer has a fixed width that doesn't adjust to the longest value, which can affect usability when items have longer text. Unfortunately, there's no built-in feature for dynamic width adjustment, but there are alternatives to improve the experience:

1. Third-Party Visuals: There are third-party visuals in the Power BI marketplace that might offer more flexibility in handling slicer dropdowns. One popular visual is the "Dropdown Slicer" by Inforiver, which provides enhanced slicer capabilities, including dropdown behavior customization. You might want to explore this or similar options to see if they meet your needs.

2. Custom Visuals with DAX: If third-party visuals don’t fully address the issue, you could consider building a custom slicer using DAX and custom visuals, where you can control the dropdown width dynamically. This approach requires more development effort but could give you full control over the dropdown behavior.

3. Suggestions to Microsoft: You can also provide feedback to the Power BI team through the Power BI Ideas portal. They are actively working on improving slicer functionality, and more user-driven feedback could help them prioritize this feature. 

   Power BI Ideas Portal

For Detailed Information: Inforiver Dropdown Slicer Visual

If you found this solution helpful, please consider accepting it and giving it a kudos (Like) it’s greatly appreciated and helps others find the solution more easily.

Best Regards,
Nasif Azam

[rishtinz]

Thank you Nasif for sharing inforiver visual. I could not find a feature that would allow me to do what I intended. I watched their whole video but it doesn't explain if the dropdown can be customized like that. Tried it myself in power bi as well but didn't find a solution.

[Nasif_Azam]

Hey @rishtinz ,

2 additional steps that might help:

1. Other Third-Party Visuals: You can try exploring other visuals on the Power BI marketplace that specialize in slicers. Some visuals offer enhanced flexibility for dropdowns, allowing customization for both width and text truncation. "Hierarchical Slicer" and "Card Slicer" are some alternatives that might work for you.

2. Custom DAX + HTML: If you're comfortable with DAX, a workaround could involve creating dynamic labels based on the selected value in a slicer, though this wouldn't fully replicate a dropdown with width adjustment. You could use a table visualization combined with dynamic filters to mimic the behavior of a dropdown.

For Detailed Information: 

Hierarchical Slicer Visual

Card Slicer Visual

If you found this solution helpful, please consider accepting it and giving it a kudos (Like) it’s greatly appreciated and helps others find the solution more easily.

Best Regards,
Nasif Azam