From Dull to Dramatic: Transform Your Reports with Power BI Custom Visualization

A custom visualization in Microsoft Power BI is a visualization that has been created using a programming language such as R or Python and has been added to Power BI as an extension.

Custom visualizations allow you to create unique and customized visualizations that are not available in the standard Power BI visualization library.

To create a custom visualization in Power BI, you’ll need to have programming experience with either R or Python and be familiar with the Power BI API. You’ll also need to have Power BI Desktop installed on your computer.

Here is a high-level overview of the steps to create a custom visualization in Power BI:

1. Develop the custom visualization using R or Python. This will typically involve creating a visualization object and defining the data and formatting options for the visualization.
2. Package the custom visualization as a Power BI Custom Visualization Extension (PBICE) file. This is a special file format that allows Power BI to recognize and use the custom visualization.
3. Install the PBICE file in Power BI Desktop. One can do this by going to the “Visualizations” pane and clicking the “Import a custom visualization” button.
4. Use the custom visualization in a Power BI report or dashboard. You can add the custom visualization to a report or dashboard by dragging it from the “Visualizations” pane onto the canvas.

Custom visualizations can be a powerful tool for extending the capabilities of Power BI and creating unique and customized visualizations for your data. However, they do require programming skills and may require more time and effort to create and maintain than standard visualizations.

Custom visuals can be a valuable addition to Power BI because they can provide users with new ways to display and analyze their data.

Some custom visuals may be more appropriate for certain types of data or use cases than others, so it’s often useful to explore the different options available and test them out to see which ones work best for your needs.

Power BI Custom Visuals are additional visualizations that can be added to Power BI reports and dashboards to provide users with more options for displaying and analyzing their data. 

 They are created by third-party developers and are available for download from the Microsoft AppSource marketplace, and can be added to a Power BI report or dashboard by importing them from the AppSource marketplace, or by installing them from a .pbiviz file.