Zebra BI for Power BI – 5.1 Update

The 5.1 update is all about quality as we firmly believe that ease of use and great user experience should come hand in hand with innovative features. To make your reports even more actionable we’re introducing the new formula manager, highlighting options for small multiples in charts, suppressed data labels for large values alongside other requested features and improvements. 
Download the Demo PBIX file that contains all the latest features illustrated with many practical examples.

Note: This is a private version of our Power BI visuals (not the AppSource version).
Download PBIX

Watch the Video

Watch the video below for a quick and practical overview of all major NEW features & updates:
(0:04) - Intro to 5.1 Release
(0:54) - Display of forecast data when AC is available 
(01:43) - Highlighting selected chart in small multiples
(02:22) - Suppress labels for large relative variances
(02:49) - Format grand totals and subtotals
(03:27) - Formula Manager
(04:46)  - Other improvements
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Interact with Zebra BI for Power BI 5.1 👇

Play with our interactive example to get inspired and see all the new features in action. 
Tip: Make sure you put the interactive report in the full-screen mode (⤢) and check out all the pages by pressing the navigation arrows.

So, what’s new? 🎉

Formula manager

Custom row formulas are one of the most advanced features in Zebra BI Tables. However, managing multiple formulas can lead to complications. This is when Zebra BI comes to the rescue once again! We developed a formula manager to avoid any issues with multiple formulas.

How to access the formula manager:

  1. Right-click on any of the rows
  2. Select Add Formula
  3. In the Formula editor click on the new button Manage Formulas
Once you’re in, you will see a list of all the formulas that you can format one by one or all at once. You can also delete one or many. What makes this feature so amazing is the Undo button, in case you did some changes to the wrong formula.

After you’re done, simply click on Confirm and VOILA, your data is looking nice! 😎

Watch an example of deleting Operating income % and Gross margin % formula.

Highlighting options for small multiples

Is it possible to make small multiples even more awesome than they already are? The answer is yes. 😎 We took care of it by enabling a highlighting option for a single small multiples series!

What does this mean in practice?

With a simple right-click on the Group title, you can highlight an entire series of small multiples and seamlessly switch to stacked chart view. The color will remain consistent. What is even better is that you can highlight each series with different color.

As a result, the small multiples are even more flexible and your reports even more insightful.

Showing forecast when AC is present

Did you ever wish to be able to display data for forecast also when a value for AC is available? Wish no more! We heard your requests and added this exciting new feature to 5.1 update. 🎊

The main benefit of this update is the increased productivity of segmented charts. And, to make it even better, it is just one click away!

How to make it visible?

  1. Go under Chart settings
  2. Toggle ‘Show all forecast data’ from Off to On.

Suppress labels for large relative variances

Sometimes it can happen that you have large relative variances which can clutter the data labels. Frustrating right? That’s why this is now an issue from the past! 🥳

With the new feature, you can now easily suppress labels for large relative variances with just one click. How to do that?

  1. Go under formatting settings

  2. Click on Data labels

  3. Toggle the ‘Suppress large relative variances’ option to On.

And your reports are suddenly even more clear and concise!

Format Grand Totals and Subtotals

Another new feature for improved user experience with Zebra BI Tables is the option to format the columns for grand totals and subtotals! This way you can make the totals stand out even clearly which makes the report more actionable.

Just like with any other column, simply click on the settings of the column and set the selected background color or add a clear borderline. Save valuable time by showing the relevant information!

Other Improvements

Zebra BI Tables 5.1

  • Improved the display of long column names so the name doesn’t spill over to other columns and the text doesn’t overlap. This also provides a better experience when clicking on an arrow or using sort on that column.
  • Updated the display of Top N, Bottom N, Top + Bottom N in the case when using 0 under the settings for item.
  • Improved the option to still display headers even when Freeze headers is disabled in the settings.
  • Provided better consistency between tooltip fields names and JSON template (or column headers). The names that are used in column headers are now also displayed in the tooltip.

Zebra BI Charts 5.1

  • You can change the number of items for the Top N + Others feature directly on the visual. Additionally, we added the option to highlight the Others which enables you to cross filter your data which makes your reports even more interactive and insightful.
  • Provided better consistency between tooltip fields names and JSON template (or column headers). The names that are used in column headers are now also displayed in the tooltip.
  • Added up and down buttons to Others in case if there is a drill down with 2x category.
  • Corrected the issue where the descriptions disappeared when the Drill Mode was used for drilling down to a single category member.
See full changelog

Time to give it a spin!

If you're using the AppSource version of Zebra BI (version 4.0.0 or higher), then your Zebra BI will be updated via Microsoft's AppSource marketplace automatically once processed. Expected release dates according to the Microsoft Power BI team:

  • Zebra BI Tables 5.1: December 8, 2021
  • Zebra BI Charts 5.1: November 17, 2021

If you're using an older (private) version of Zebra BI (e.g. 3.x.x or older), then this is a perfect opportunity to update your Zebra BI! When ready, just shoot us an email at support@zebra.bi and we'll help you migrate to the latest version.

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