Lesson 11 - Card Visual in Power BI Desktop

A Card visual is used to display a single important value or KPI in a simple and easy-to-read format. It is commonly used to highlight key business metrics such as total sales, profit, revenue, or the number of records.

Good to Know: The modern Card visual also supports displaying multiple cards in a single visual. The classic Multi-row Card visual remains available for compatibility with existing reports but Microsoft recommends using the Card visual for new reports.

Card Visual

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How to Proceed?

Step 1

Launch power BI desktop app and open the new report page and import the data required. 

Refer Lesson 7 - Power BI Datasets to build great visuals

Step 2 

Add a Card visual by clicking Insert > Card on the Home ribbon or select the Card visual from the Visualizations pane (or build a visual menu if On-object Interaction is enabled).

Step 3  

Drag the required field or measure into the Fields well (or select Add data if using On-object Interaction).

In this example, the Card visual displays the No of Medals. Card visuals are commonly used to display a single KPI or business metric such as Total Sales, Profit, Revenue, Customer Count, or Percentage values. The displayed value automatically updates based on filters, slicers, and cross-filtering from other visuals.

Step 4

Customizing the appearance

You can customize the appearance of the card visual. Click anywhere on the visual and set the properties in the Format section. The Card visual provides many formatting options that allow you to customize its appearance and display information more effectively.

Refer Lesson 6 - Formatting the visuals in Power BI Desktop

Callout value

The Callout value displays the primary value in the Card visual. You can customize its font size, font family, color, display units, and decimal places.

Category label

The Category label displays the name of the field or measure below the callout value. You can customize its font size, font family, color, and visibility.

General formatting

Under the General tab, you can customize the Title, Effects (such as background and border), Properties, and other general formatting options to improve the appearance of the Card visual.

Step 5 Save the visual

Finally, your Card Visual is ready. Click save button to save the visual.

When to use Card visual?

Use a Card visual when you want to highlight a single important metric or KPI that users can quickly understand at a glance. It is commonly used to display values such as total sales, profit, revenue, customer count, or any other key business metric.

Pros

• Simple and easy to understand.
• Clearly highlights a single important metric or KPI.
• Occupies very little report space.
• Automatically updates based on filters and slicers.
• Ideal for dashboards and summary reports.

Cons

• Displays only one metric at a time.
• Not suitable for comparing multiple values or categories.
• Limited customization compared to other visuals.

Conclusion

The Card visual is one of the most commonly used visuals in Power BI for displaying a single KPI or business metric. With its extensive formatting options and automatic interaction with filters and slicers, it provides a clear and effective way to highlight important information in dashboards and reports.

Useful Information

Tags	Power BI
Useful links	https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/creating-card-visuals-in-power-bi/
MS Learn Modules	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/visuals/power-bi-visualization-card?tabs=powerbi-desktop
Test Your Knowledge	Quiz