Toggle Small Multiples in Power BI visuals

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Toggle Small Multiples in Power BI visuals
One sneaky way to use Field Parameters is to toggle different settings like Small Multiples, Legend and more.

Posted by Sam Lowrie on 01 May 2025

In this blog

Small Multiples
Field Parameters
Editing the Parameter Options and Slicer
Connecting the Parameter to the Chart

Small Multiples

In Power BI you can use small multiples to divide a single chart into lots of smaller ones based on a field in your data model. Here's an example of a standard column chart showing Sales by Centre type:

This chart shows the data by one dimension, CentreTypeName, in the X-axis.

Here's the same chart with the RegionName field added to the Small multiples bucket of the field well:

This chart now shows the data by two dimension by adding RegionName into Small multiples.

What if you'd like your users to be able to switch between the two versions of the chart shown above?

Toggle settings like small multiples on and off

Here the user can use a slicer to toggle the Small multiples option.

Field Parameters

We can use a field parameter to allow the user to toggle small multiples. You can learn about the basics of field parameters in this blog and this video.

To create a field parameter, choose Modeling | New parameter | Fields from the ribbon.

You could also use a Numeric range as a toggle with 1 and 0 but that is less fun.

In the dialog box which appears, give the parameter a sensible name and add each of the fields you want to use in the chart's Small multiples. For this example we'll add only the RegionName field. Make sure to leave the Add slicer to this page box checked.

Here I am keeping it simple and only adding one field.

Power BI will generate a new table and add a slicer listing the name of the field you selected:

Field parameter slicer listing the avilable fields

The selected field appears in the new slicer.

Editing the Parameter Options and Slicer

We'd like our users to see the words On and Off in the slicer, rather than just the name of the single field we selected.

To do this, select the Toggle Small Multiples parameter table in the Data pane and edit the code in the formula bar. Start by changing the field name in speech marks to the word On:

The code generated when creating a field parameter

Use the field names when using multiple columns.

Now add a second option to the table using the word Off and which returns the value TRUE().

You could say None instead of Off when using multiple columns.

The slicer should now look like this:

Field Parameter with modified options in the slicer

There is a risk your user chooses nothing.

You may like to format the slicer to use tiles and to allow only a single value to be selected.

Tile slicer with the two avilable options

A simple set of buttons.

Connecting the Parameter to the Chart

To make the slicer control the chart, add the Toggle Small Multiples column to the Small multiples section of the chart.

Add this field parameter into the matching setting

Column chart field well options.

You can now use the slicer to toggle the Small multiples between On and Off.

The final result provides the user with more control over the chart.

This works with other settings including Legend, Play Axis, Small Multiples, Scatter Chart Values, Category and more. Let us know what you make optional!

Some other pages relevant to the above blog include:

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