Matrix Visual Shows “rsQueryMemoryLimitExceeded” Error When Expanding All Columns in Power BI Servic

[Mahendra_k]

Hi everyone,

I’ve created a matrix visual in Power BI that contains many columns.
There’s also a filter (created using a field parameter) that includes all the columns present in the matrix.

When I use this report in the Power BI Service and expand all columns in the matrix, I encounter the following error:

> Underlying Error: rsQueryMemoryLimitExceeded

At that point, the table becomes invisible.
However, when I apply any filter (which reduces the data size), the matrix becomes visible again.

How can I resolve or optimize this issue so that the matrix can be fully expanded in the Power BI Service without hitting the rsQueryMemoryLimitExceeded error?

Any guidance or optimization techniques (for model design, DAX, or visuals) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[v-nmadadi-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @Mahendra_k  ,
Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum.

Please go to capacity settings in Admin portal and check the query memory limit, change if there is any value present to zero and rechec the matrix visual to see if you are facing the same error.

The default value of this property is 0, which means the maximum value for the capacity SKU you’re using will be applied; any other value will be interpreted as a percentage of that maximum value.

Additionally, these are the query memory limits applied to various Fabric SKU’s,
you can even upgrade your SKU to get higher query memory limit.

How to configure workloads in Power BI Premium - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn

I hope this information helps. Please do let us know if you have any further queries.
Thank you

[Wikkleyn_81]

Hi @Mahendra_k Chris Webb has an interesting blog post on exactly this issue. It might not solve your issue, but it does provide an explanation of the DAX queries that the visual creates.

https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2025/05/18/performance-implications-of-different-ways-of-fully-expandin...

[MFelix]

Hi @Mahendra_k ,

Depending on you license the limits for memory are different and impact the result.

You refer that you have all the columns present in a field parameter, you don't specify how many you have and also depending on the number of rows you have this will rapidly increase the memory usage.

Some of the best practices I use when building this type of visualizations are:

• Filter values (has you mention)
  • Use drill trough feature
  • Have a page with slicers sinc to the matrix table this will force the selection before the matrix
• On field parameters
  • Create aggregation column for the values this will allow to select only part of the columns and not all of them
  • Check what is the columns that may be causing that break
    • This comes from trial and error adding the columns to the visual and trying to see where it breaks
  • Double check if in fact you need to have all those columns has options on the visual
    • In previous experiences what I have discovered is that user tend to only use a certain part of the columns in a specific analysis
  • Identify the columns that user usually use together and make some pre-filter on this
    • Example: Columns A, B,C  are used together, columns D, A, G, Z, Y, X are another option try to build this pre selection on the page using bookmarks or grouping the field parameters
  • Don't mix columns of data with measures make two different field parameters
• In terms of DAX it depends on what you are doing but a simple SUM may cause issues if you are pulling to much data in your visual

This are just some toughts that occurr to me. If you need any further assistance let me know.

[Mahendra_k]

I’m currently using a Power BI Pro license.
The matrix has around 10–12 columns, and I’m using a simple SUM DAX for aggregation — nothing complex.

The issue occurs only when I expand all columns in the matrix; if I apply any filter, the table becomes visible again.

Do you think this could still be a memory issue, even with only 10–12 columns? Or is there any way to optimize the field parameter setup to avoid this error?

Thanks again for your help!

[MFelix]

@Mahendra_k ,

This depends on the data and the relationships you have in your model, the columns may be "small" but the combination of all of them in a single visual may create a huge table in the background.

Has I said I usually try out with different setups of the table specially if I have a lot of very detailed fields.

In terms of the parameters I belive that the pratice of aggregating them in several "categories" so that the user does not get all the data from the model in a single table is a good option.