Why Use The Modern Visual Header In Power BI? – Power BI Tips #2

When designing a report in Power BI that includes many visuals, it is important for the designer to have a feeling for the end result of the report while working on it. Many options in Power BI would enable us to control how reports look like at the time of the design; and one of these options is the Modern Visual Header.

First of all, let’s see how this option can be toggled and then we can discuss the benefits of having it turned on. You can enable/disable this option (on the current file only) by going to the File tab > Options and settings > Options:

In the options page, scroll down under the “Current File” section, click on Report settings. The option will be available as in the screenshot below:

Now, what is the benefit of having this option turned on? With this setting turned on, it will not add any design-specific padding to the visual which will enable the designer to view all visuals in their real sizes at design time. If this option is turned off, visuals will have that extra padding during design time which can be confusing to designers.

IMO, having this option always enabled makes it easier for me as a report designer to measure spaces between visuals and know exactly how my report would look like while I’m at it!

Do you think this option is useful? Have you ever needed to turn it off and have these extra paddings? Let me know in the comments!