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The Power BI update for January 2025 introduces several exciting features that improve report interactivity, visualization, modeling, and development efficiency.
This post will highlight three key updates: improvements to the text slicer, upgrades to the treemap visual, and the preview of TMDL scripting experience.
The text slicer (preview) was introduced in November 2024, now allows mutli-selection, addressing a major limitation in text-based filtering. The treemap visual gains new tiling and spacing formatting options and TMDL view previews a code-first approach to semantic modeling.
Text Slicer (Preview) Enhancements
In my previous post, Power BI Feature Spotlight: Data Filtering and Modeling, I introduced the Text Slicer, highlighting its benefits, use cases, and the limitation of allowing only a single text input.
The January 2025 update addresses this limitation by introducing an option for users to input multiple values. With this new feature, users can now add multiple text inputs to the slicer, enabling them to make multiple selections for filtering the dataset.
The text slicer now includes a Allow multiple values toggle in the format settings for allowing multiple values. For more details and how to enable the text slicer (preview) see: Enhancement to Text slicer (Preview).
By allowing multiple text values, this update enhances flexibility and gives users greater control over data slicing and insight generation.
Use Case: Applying the Text Slicer in Reports
Filter on Parts of a Product Code – Explore data without a standalone field
Many datasets store information in a single field, such as a product code that includes details like color, size, or category. The new text slicer with multi-selection functionality makes filtering easier based on multiple embedded attributes.
For example, in the sample dataset, product codes contain embedded color codes (e.g. SM-5933-BK, where BK stands for black). Previously, users could only filter by one color code at a time. Now, users can select multiple color codes simultaneously to display all products that match their desired colors.
This enhancement enables better utilization of existing data structures, enhancing report filtering efficiency and flexibility without requiring additional transformations.
Search and Filter Product Reviews – Analyze long-form text fields
The text slicer was already a powerful tool for filtering customer reviews by keyword. Now, with the introduction of multi-selection, users can dive deeper and gain insights across multiple topics at the same time.
For instance, when working with a dataset containing product reviews, we could previously filter by a single keyword like “battery” to see all related reviews. With the new update, we can now filter for both “battery” and “charging” simultaneously.
A Better Treemap: The Latest Enhancements Explained
The January 2025 Power BI Desktop update enhances the treemap visual, providing greater control and customization, ensuring treemaps remain an effective tool for visualizing hierarchical data. We can now adjust the tiling method and spacing controls within the visual’s Layout properties.
New Tiling Methods: More Control Over Treemap Layouts
Squarified: Uses a squarified treemap algorithm to create a balanced layout where rectangles maintain an aspect ratio close to squares. This method prevents elongated rectangles, improving size comparisons and readability.
Binary: Continuously divides the chart area into two sections, incrementally adding new rectangles and creating a balanced format. Each hierarchy level is split further, resulting in a well-organized treemap that adjusts to the underlying data structure.
Alternating (Columns, Rows): Distinguish categories by splitting them into columns, and each is split into rows. This method is effective at visualizing data at multiple hierarchical levels.
New Spacing Options: Improved Readability and Appearance
Space between all nodes: Introduces gaps between adjacent nodes at all hierarchy levels, reducing visual clutter and improving clarity.
Space between groups: Adds extra space around each node group, helping to separate different categories visually.
For more information and details check out the Enhancements to Treemap visual section of the January 2025 update feature summary. If you are looking to dive in and get hands-on with this update, take a look at the 2025 Week 7 Power BI Workout Wednesday challenge. This challenge uses the new treemap feature to create a treemap visual organized into columns.
TMDL Scripting Experience (Preview)
The TMDL view is a new feature added to Power BI Desktop and has gotten a lot of attention for good reason.
TMDL view offers a scripting environment that enables developers to script, modify, and implement changes to the semantic model using Tabular Model Definition Language (TMDL). This view provides an alternative experience for semantic modeling in Power BI Desktop, allowing users to work with code rather than relying solely on the user interface.
The key benefits of the TMDL scripting experience include:
- Enhanced Development Efficiency: The code editor includes features such as search-and-replace and support for multi-line edits, streamlining the coding process.
- Increased Reusability: TMDL scripts allow for scripting, sharing, and reusing semantic model objects, making it easier to manage and replicate work.
- Greater Control and Transparency: This feature exposes all semantic model objects and properties, enabling users to set or modify elements that may not be accessible through the Power BI Desktop user interface.
Interested to learn more about this feature? Check out the TMDL scripting experience (Preview) feature summary, the How to Use TMDL View in Power BI Desktop – Top Tricks! video, and this great blog post TMDL View And Power BI Developer Productivity: An Example Using The Detail Rows Definition Property.
Wrapping Up
The January 2025 Power BI update delivers significant updates that improve report interactivity, usability, and development efficiency. The new multi-select capability of the text slicer removes a key limitation, and the treemap visual improvements provide greater control, helping us make our report more intuitive.
The introduction of the TMDL scripting experience unlocks tools directly in Power BI Desktop to adopt a code-first approach to semantic modeling, providing greater reusability.
As Power BI continues to evolve, the updates provide us with the tools necessary to create more dynamic, interactive, and insightful reports.
Check out the Power BI January 2025 Feature Summary for more details and updates.
Thank you for reading! Stay curious, and until next time, happy learning.
And, remember, as Albert Einstein once said, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” So, don’t be afraid of making mistakes, practice makes perfect. Continuously experiment, explore, and challenge yourself with real-world scenarios.
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Ethan Guyant 