7.2 Visual Formatting and Conditional Formatting

Quick Answer: Use the Format pane to configure visual properties (colors, labels, axes). Conditional formatting adds dynamic styling, color cells by value, add data bars, or icon sets. Themes ensure consistency across the report, and custom JSON themes enable brand-compliant reports across an organization.

The Format Pane

Select a visual to open the Format pane with two tabs.

Visual tab (chart-specific): X/Y axis labels and scale, legend, data labels, column/bar colors, title, tooltips, and data colors (including conditional formatting).

General tab (shared): title, effects (background, border, shadow), header icons, default vs. report-page tooltip, alt text for accessibility, and padding.

Conditional Formatting

Conditional formatting adds data-driven visual cues. It applies to table/matrix cells (background color, font color, data bars, icons, web URL), chart data colors, card values, and dynamic titles.

Color Scale vs. Rules vs. Field Value

Color scale suits continuous data where you want a smooth gradient. Rules suit discrete thresholds, ideal for above/below-target coloring. Field value (fx) lets a measure return the color, giving full control:

Traffic Light Color =
SWITCH(TRUE(),
    [Performance] >= 0.8, "#00B050",
    [Performance] >= 0.5, "#FFC000",
    "#FF0000")

Reference this measure in the conditional-formatting dialog's "Format by: Field value" option. Field-value formatting is the most flexible because the logic lives in DAX and can combine multiple conditions.

Themes

Apply a built-in theme from View > Themes. For brand consistency, create a custom JSON theme:

{
  "name": "Corporate Theme",
  "dataColors": ["#003366", "#006699", "#3399CC", "#66CCFF"],
  "background": "#FFFFFF",
  "foreground": "#333333",
  "textClasses": {
    "title": { "fontFace": "Segoe UI Semibold", "fontSize": 14, "color": "#003366" }
  }
}

Apply it via View > Themes > Browse for themes. A custom theme defines colors, fonts, and default visual properties once, so every author starts brand-compliant. You can also export the current theme (View > Themes > Save current theme) to share it. JSON themes support far more than data colors, including per-visual style defaults, page backgrounds, and structural styling for the entire report.

Accessibility and Formatting Best Practices

1. Use consistent colors across related visuals (a theme handles this automatically).
2. Limit conditional formatting, too many colors create noise and dilute meaning.
3. Do not rely on red/green alone, color-blind users may not distinguish them; pair color with icons, labels, or patterns.
4. Add alt text to every visual so screen readers can describe it.
5. Give axes meaningful titles instead of raw column names, and turn off unnecessary gridlines and borders for a cleaner look.
6. Maintain sufficient contrast between text and background, and avoid conveying information by color only.

These accessibility practices are explicitly part of the PL-300 "create reports" objective and reflect Microsoft's accessibility guidance for Power BI.

On the Exam

The PL-300 tests applying conditional formatting to tables and matrices, color scale vs. rules-based formatting, applying and customizing themes, field-value formatting driven by a measure, and accessibility formatting requirements.

Formatting Is Part of Data Trust

Clean, consistent formatting is not decoration, it is how a report earns trust and communicates quickly. Currency that shows as $1,234 rather than 1234.5, percentages that read 45.6%, axis titles that name the metric, and a coherent color scheme all reduce the cognitive load on the reader and reduce misinterpretation.

The PL-300 treats this as a real skill: questions ask you to choose the formatting mechanism that produces a specific, correct, and accessible result, not to make a chart "prettier." Knowing where each control lives, model-level format strings, the Format pane, conditional formatting, and themes, lets you answer those questions confidently.

Choosing the Right Conditional-Formatting Mechanism

There is a best tool for each intent. Use a color scale when the value is continuous and you want a gradient (heat-map style). Use rules when you have discrete thresholds, especially binary above/below-target coloring. Use data bars to show relative magnitude in-cell while keeping the numbers visible. Use icon sets for categorical status (traffic lights, up/down arrows). And use field value (fx) when the coloring logic is complex enough to deserve a DAX measure that returns a hex color, the most flexible option because the rules live in code and can combine conditions.

Matching mechanism to intent is exactly what the conditional-formatting questions test.

Themes Scale Consistency; Accessibility Is Mandatory

A JSON theme turns one-off formatting into an organizational standard: define data colors, fonts, page backgrounds, and even per-visual style defaults once, then distribute the file so every author starts on-brand. Layered on top, accessibility requirements are non-negotiable on the exam, never encode meaning in color alone, add alt text to every visual, maintain strong text/background contrast, and reinforce red/green status with icons or labels for color-blind users. A report can be beautifully themed and still fail accessibility, so the exam expects you to apply both consistency and inclusive-design practices together.