Display Conditional Formatting Icons as Legends in Matrix Visuals

[Nkota]

Currently, Power BI allows users to apply conditional formatting in matrix visuals using icons (e.g., arrows, checkmarks, circles). However, there is no built-in feature to display a legend that explains what these icons represent. This can cause confusion for users who may not understand the meaning behind the icons without additional explanation.

Proposal: I propose adding a feature that displays a legend within matrix visuals, showing the icons used in conditional formatting and their corresponding rules. This legend would work similarly to how legends are used for other visual elements like bar charts and line charts.

Benefits:

1. Improved User Understanding: Displaying the icons in a legend would help users quickly understand the meaning of each icon without having to refer to external documentation or tooltips.
2. Enhanced Visual Clarity: The legend would provide immediate context for decision-makers, improving the overall clarity of the report and reducing the need for manual explanations.
3. Consistency Across Visuals: By aligning matrix visuals with the functionality already present in other visualizations (like color-coded legends in bar or pie charts), the user experience becomes more consistent.
4. Time-Saving: Report viewers would spend less time interpreting conditional formatting rules, allowing them to focus more on analyzing the data.

This feature would be especially useful for scenarios where reports are shared with users who are not familiar with the underlying conditional formatting rules, ensuring they can interpret the data accurately.

[Anonymous]

This is a consistent user request. I have made a similar suggestion - allowing the use of icons in text boxes. Either way, where icons are used, they need to be documented. Currently, I have to insert the icons as images and manually position them n order to provide a legend.