Power BI Selected Values: Clarify Visuals with DAX

Power BI’s interactivity is powerful but without context, it can confuse users. That’s why displaying Power BI selected values using DAX is essential. It helps users instantly understand what filters are applied, especially when visuals dynamically change based on selections.

You’ll learn how to build a flexible DAX measure that makes Power BI selected values visible using functions like CONCATENATEX, VALUES, and ISFILTERED.

The Problem: Confusion From Interactions

Power BI’s interactive visuals are powerful, but they can be confusing especially to users who aren’t familiar with how one visual affects another. For example:

• A user selects a data point on a tree map…
• Then sees a waterfall chart suddenly filtered to only that one value…
• But doesn’t notice the filter icon or understand why the visual changed.

The result? Confusion, support emails, or worse loss of trust in the data.

Yes, you could use Edit Interactions to prevent visuals from filtering each other. But what if you want to maintain interactivity and just make the effects of those interactions clearer?

The Solution: A DAX Measure to Display Selected Values

Let’s build a DAX measure that clearly displays what the user has selected making your visuals easier to interpret and your reports more user-friendly.

Step 1: Create a “Visual Measures” Table

Create a new table to store your visual-specific DAX measures:

1. Go to Modeling > Enter Data.
2. Name your table (e.g., Visual Measures).
3. Add a placeholder column (you’ll delete this later).

Step 2: Write the “Selected Values  Year” Measure

In your new table, create a new measure:

Selected Values - Year = 
IF (
    ISFILTERED('Date'[Calendar Year]),
    "Years selected: " & 
        CONCATENATEX (
            VALUES('Date'[Calendar Year]),
            'Date'[Calendar Year],
            ", "
        ),
    "All calendar years"
)

Breakdown:

• ISFILTERED: Checks if a filter is applied on 'Date'[Calendar Year].
• CONCATENATEX + VALUES: Creates a comma-separated list of the selected years.
• Else, it defaults to "All calendar years".

You can use this measure inside a Card Visual to display the user’s selected years dynamically.

Step 3: Duplicate the Pattern for Other Fields

You can repeat this logic for any other field. For example, to track Distance Group selections, create a new measure like:

Selected Values - Distance Group = 
IF (
    ISFILTERED('Flight Distance'[Distance Group Name]),
    "Distance group selected: " & 
        CONCATENATEX (
            VALUES('Flight Distance'[Distance Group Name]),
            'Flight Distance'[Distance Group Name],
            ", "
        ),
    "All distance groups"
)

Just replace the field names accordingly.

Step 4: Use the New Card Visual for Better Formatting

The new Card visual in Power BI offers greater formatting flexibility:

• Switch the layout from Row to Column.
• Adjust callout font size (e.g., reduce it to 25pt).
• Toggle off labels if not needed.
• Use color to make the text pop and align with your report theme.

Step 5: Final Touches & Best Practices

• Delete the placeholder column from your Visual Measures table.
• Add your measures to the report canvas using the new Card visual.
• Consider adding multiple cards (for year, group, region, etc.) to show all selected filters clearly.
• Be consistent with naming: e.g., “Years selected”, “Distance group selected”, etc.

Why This Matters

This small enhancement improves the clarity and usability of your reports, especially for non-technical or occasional users. It reduces confusion, increases trust, and enhances the storytelling power of your Power BI dashboards.

By making user selections visible and understandable, you’re taking a huge step toward universal design principles in reporting.

Want to Learn More?

If you found this technique helpful, check out our on-demand Power BI training resources at Data Bear’s Power BI Training. You’ll find in-depth courses on:

• Power BI Storytelling
• Universal Design
• Advanced DAX Techniques
• And much more!