Field Parameters in Power BI: A Comprehensive Guide

What Are Field Parameters in Power BI

With slicers, users can dynamically switch between multiple fields (measures or dimensions) through Field Parameters. By doing this, report interactivity is improved, and users can analyse data from various angles without manually changing the visuals.  

Why Use Field Parameters

• Dynamic Interactions – Field Parameters provide an enhanced user experience to report users allowing them to dynamically switch between different metrics and dimensions

• Simplified Report Development: Before field parameters providing these interactions often required complex DAX increasing development time.

• Reduce clutter: No need to have multiple visuals representing Sales and Profit. One visual along with field parameters can provide many options to report users

• Self-service: Empowering report users to visualise data based on their requirements.

How to create Field Parameters in Power BI

Step 1: Enable Field Parameters in Power BI

1. Open Power BI Desktop.

   
   

2. Navigate to File / Options and Settings / Options

   
   

3. Under Preview Features, enable Field Parameters.

   
   

4. Restart Power BI Desktop to apply the changes.

Step 2: Create a Field Parameter

1. In the Modelling tab, click New Parameter > Fields.

   

   
   

2. Give your parameter a relevant name (e.g., Measures Parameter).

   
   

3. Select the measures or fields you to toggle (e.g., Sales, Profit, Quantity).

   
   

4. Before hitting Create, make sure to check the option Add slicer to this page. This will automatically add a slicer to your report, allowing users to interact with the field parameter.

   
   

5. Hit Create.

Step 3: Add the field Parameter to a Visual

1. A Slicer will be created.

   
   

2. Add a Matrix, Table or Chart visualisation.

   
   

3. Drag the Field Parameter into the Rows section of the Visualisation.

   
   

4. Now selecting an option in the slicer dynamically updates the visual.

Step 4: Customize the Field Parameter Table

To rename or reorder the options in the parameter table:

1. Go to the Data View.

   
   

2. Locate the Field Parameter Table (Measure Parameter in this case).

   
   

3. Modify the names or order of the fields if needed.

   
   

   

   
   

4. Update sorting options for a better user experience.

Best Practices for Using Field Parameters in Power BI

• Use common report interactions: Having field parameters is like taking a report developer to a candy store. There are so many options to choose from. In my opinion, always stick to the basics like:

• Daily / Weekly / Monthly toggle for the x-axis

• Sales / Profit for the measures

• Naming the fields: Use relevant names to ensure parameter names are self-explaining for end users.

• Combine with bookmarks: Link field parameters to the bookmarks for more advanced navigation to improve interactivity

Conclusion

Power BI's Field Parameters feature allows users to dynamically switch between different fields, which is a powerful approach to improve report interaction. Field Parameters can be successfully implemented in your Power BI reports by following the instructions provided in the blog

Bear in mind Field Parameters is still in preview so if you are using it in a production environment do it with caution. For more info check out Microsoft's page on Field Parameters -

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/create-reports/power-bi-field-parameters