Stop Using FORMAT() in Power BI 😬 — 4 Creative Ways to Dynamically Format Numbers the Right Way 💡

Go beyond FORMAT() hacks: learn 4 smart ways to scale numbers (K, M, B), add emojis, and switch formats — all while keeping your measures numeric and visuals clean.

PBIX available at the end of this article 🥳

Introduction

Many of us (I’m guilty 🙋‍♀️🙈) use the FORMAT() function to prettify/get the exact display in numbers you are seeking (like to show “K”, “M”, or “B”), integrate symbols (+, -, ↗️, ↘️), etc.But there’s a catch: once you use FORMAT(), your measure becomes text.That means no sorting, no aggregating, and no proper visuals. 😬

Power BI’s Dynamic Format Function solves that. It lets you change how values look — while keeping them numeric underneath.

You can still sum, sort, or filter as usual — just with smarter formatting. 💡You can see how it works in this demo video:

Read the full story on Medium: https://isabittar.medium.com/stop-using-format-in-power-bi-4-creative-ways-to-dynamically-format-numbers-the-right-way-79be314a25ad