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

[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

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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