Enable conditional formatting per measure in Stacked Column Chart

[Sayurivalente]

Problem Description

In the Power BI Stacked Column Chart, conditional formatting for column colors only works when there is a single measure in the Y axis.

When two or more measures are stacked, the conditional formatting option (fx) disappears and only fixed colors per series are available.

This prevents common analytical scenarios such as

• Comparing Actual vs Last Year

• Creating a base bar with a delta segment on top

• Coloring only the delta segment dynamically (green for growth, red for decline)

We can create the correct DAX logic to stack measures, but we cannot conditionally format only one stacked segment because the visual supports only static colors per measure.

Real World Scenario

A very common business scenario uses two measures

Measure 1 = Base (minimum between Current and Last Year)
Measure 2 = Delta (difference between Current and Last Year)

The goal is to color only the Delta segment
Green when positive
Red when negative

This works with a single measure but stops working when two stacked measures are used, which is the correct modeling approach.

Current Behavior

With one measure the fx button is available for column color.
With two stacked measures the fx button disappears.

The screenshots show this limitation in the formatting pane.

Expected Behavior

The mockup shows the desired result.

Measure 1 keeps a fixed color.
Measure 2 uses conditional formatting.
Green for positive values.
Red for negative values.

This is a common requirement for variance, growth and performance analysis.

Suggested Improvement

Allow conditional formatting per stacked measure or segment in the Stacked Column Chart.

Show the fx button per measure under
Format > Columns > Series > Color

Allow conditional formatting by

• Rules
• Field value
• Color scale

Each stacked measure should support independent dynamic color rules.

Business Impact

This improvement would enable common business visuals such as

• Variance vs Last Year or Budget analysis
• Waterfall style visuals using stacked columns
• Automatic highlighting of growth vs decline
• Clearer performance storytelling without custom visuals or workarounds

Today this requires complex workarounds or custom visuals.

Attachments Description

Attachment 1
Single measure with conditional formatting available.
Shows the fx button visible when only one measure is used.

Attachment 2
Two stacked measures with no conditional formatting available.
Shows the fx button disappearing and only fixed colors per series.

Attachment 3
Current vs expected behavior mockup with supporting table.

Top chart shows the current behavior with fixed colors.
Bottom chart shows the expected behavior with the delta segment colored green or red.
The table on the right shows Actual, Last Year and Delta with conditional formatting already working in a table visual.