New Card visual

Card is a visualization that is often used in Power BI reports to display some static data, for example: total revenue, total costs, profit, number of employees… This visualization has not changed since the beginning, and since a few months ago Card (new) visual appeared, which has all the functionality of Card and some new features. First, it offers easy simultaneous display of several indicators, and then there are numerous options for their formatting…

This functionality comes with the June 2023 version of Power BI Desktop. Before you start using it, check that it is included within the Preview functionality.

We have added to the Model a simple set of data consisting of two tables: Items and Transactions. We connected the tables and then created the measures Sales Revenue and Profit. We will add these two measures in the Card (new) visualization. If we first add Sales Revenue to the canvas, Power BI Desktop will automatically include this measure in the Card visualization. From the list of Visual Types, in the Build a Visual menu, you only need to select the Card (new) visualization and add one additional measure: Profit.

Next, we can start formatting the display of visualization elements. By clicking on More Options, in the Add or Remove Visual Elements window, a menu with formatting options will appear on the right. The following is a description of some of the most important options, specifying the characteristics of the groups found in the menu.

The Title section offers us the possibility to add a title, subtitle, dividing line and space between the title/subtitle and the indicators displayed in the tabs. It is possible to change the font type, size, alignment, and many other indicators if you think you need the title. The author of this text believes that, in most cases, you should not add it because the card labels provide enough information.

The Shape section offers the possibility of customizing the shape in which the cards are displayed. It can be a rectangle, a rounded rectangle, a snipped tab. You can customize each shape individually according to your wishes.

In the Callout section, the method of displaying values in the card frame is adjusted. Values allows you to choose the type, style, size or color of the font, alignment etc. of how values are displayed… The Labels selection allows you, in the same way, to choose how you want to format the labels, and Spacing is used to adjust the alignment between these two display elements.

The Layout section allows you to choose the alignment within the card frame (Top, Middle, Bottom), and Card offers detailed settings for the card’s appearance. You can choose the color and degree of transparency of the background color of the card (Fill), border settings (Border), color and display of the shadow (Shadow), glow settings (Glow), accent line (Accent), as well as add an image as an illustration of the card (Image)… There are many options you can use to add additional customizations. If you put in a little effort, the new Card visual could help you to visualize the desired measures in an amazingly effective way…