Do you want to enhance your Power BI report design? Have you used a Table visual to add details to your users?

A table visual in Power BI is an indispensable component of a report as it facilitates data display making it an essential tool for effective data communication and analytics.

Effective formatting can significantly impact how well the data in your table is understood and the overall effectiveness of your reports.

One of the important formatting options in a table visual is the text alignment.

How to Center Values in a Power BI Table

Power BI table visual has a default alignment when created, the default alignment differs according to the data type in the column.

Numerical values will be Right Aligned, while Text and Date data types will be Left Aligned.

This can be visually distracting for a few reasons:

1. The column headers will always be Left Aligned. For example, the Total Revenue column, the header is Left Aligned, while values are Right Aligned. This can be distracting for report users.
2. When a Left Aligned column meets a Right Aligned column, like in the case of the Date and Total Revenue columns, an empty space is created.

The above problems present themselves particularly when you start playing with the columns’ width.

Centering values in a Power BI table offers numerous advantages in data presentation. It significantly enhances the readability of the report, making it easier for users to interpret and comprehend the data.

This formatting choice ensures a consistent and professional appearance throughout the report, aligning with established design standards and best practices.

By drawing the viewer’s attention to the data itself rather than text alignment issues, centering values helps users quickly scan and analyze the information, identifying trends, patterns, and anomalies more efficiently.

Start by creating your Table visualization.

1. Go to the Report view.
2. Choose the Table visual from the Visualizations pane.
3. Add data fields to your Table by dragging them to the Columns field in the Table or by checking the checkbox beside each data field.

Now you need to start formatting the Table Visual

4. While you are selecting the Table Visual, go to the Formatting menu.
5. Expand the Specific Column menu.

6. Now you need to choose which Series/Column you want to apply the alignment to.
7. You can also choose if the new alignment will apply to the chosen Series/Column header and/or the Total. It is recommended to turn on both options for Apply to header and Apply to total in order to keep a harmonized alignment across the column.
8. Go to the Alignment section and choose the Center option.

You can also explore the different formatting options in the formatting pane. The default Table formatting is not usually visually appealing, and it is recommended to customize the formatting to make it more user friendly.

Conclusions

Centering values in Power BI tables is crucial for improving report design, data readability, and alignment with best practices.

This straightforward formatting enhancement ensures a consistent and professional appearance, while also directing focus to the data, making it easier for users to interpret and analyze the information.

By mastering this technique, you can create more effective and visually appealing reports. Are you centering values in your Power BI reports? Let me know in the comments below!