How to Add Dynamic Text in Power BI

Adding dynamic text to your Power BI reports transforms them from static dashboards into interactive, context-aware tools. Instead of generic titles and labels, you can create text that updates automatically based on a user's filter and slicer selections. This article will show you exactly how to create dynamic titles, summary cards, and labels using simple DAX formulas.

What is Dynamic Text and Why Is It So Useful?

Dynamic text is any text element in your report - a chart title, a label, or text in a card - that changes in response to user interaction. When someone clicks on a slicer for "California," a generic title like "Sales Over Time" can instantly become "Sales Over Time for California."

This might seem like a small tweak, but it has a huge impact on your report's usability. Here’s why it matters:

• It provides immediate context. Users never have to question what they're looking at. The titles and summaries explicitly state the current filter context, which reduces confusion and misinterpretation.
• It creates a better user experience. Reports feel more like a responsive, custom-built application and less like a static slide deck. It’s a professional touch that makes your work stand out.
• It guides the analytical narrative. You can build sentences that summarize key insights based on the sliced data, helping users understand the story behind the numbers instantly.
• It saves you time and report space. Instead of creating separate pages or visuals for different segments (like each region or product category), you can use one visual that elegantly adapts to any selection.

At its core, dynamic text helps users get clear answers faster, which is the ultimate goal of any good report.

Your Main Tool: Simple DAX Measures

The engine behind all dynamic text in Power BI is DAX (Data Analysis Expressions). If you're new to DAX, don't worry. You don't need to be an expert to master dynamic text. We'll be using some very straightforward functions and concepts that are easy to pick up.

The two main building blocks we’ll rely on are:

1. String Concatenation (&): This is just a fancy term for joining pieces of text together. The ampersand (&) symbol is used to combine static text (like "Sales for ") with dynamic values from your data.
2. SELECTEDVALUE(): This is the hero function for dynamic text. It checks if a single value has been selected from a specific column (like via a slicer). If one value is selected, it returns that value. If more than one or zero values are selected, you can provide an alternate "default" text, like "All Regions."

That's the basic theory. Now let's put it into practice.

How to Create a Dynamic Title for a Visual

Let's walk through the most common use case: making a chart title dynamic. For this example, we’ll assume you have a sales report with a bar chart showing sales by product category and a slicer for the Region column.

Step 1: Write the DAX Measure for the Title

First, you need to create a new measure that will generate the text for your title. This measure will combine your static text with the value selected in the region slicer.

1. In Power BI Desktop, make sure you're in the "Report" view.
2. Right-click on your table in the "Data" pane (e.g., your 'Sales' table) and select New measure.
3. The formula bar will appear at the top. Enter the following DAX formula:

Dynamic Title = "Sales by Category for " & SELECTEDVALUE('Sales'[Region], "All Regions")

Breaking Down the Formula:

• Dynamic Title = — This is simply the name of our new measure.
• "Sales by Category for " — This is our static text. Remember to include a space at the end so it doesn't run into the next part.
• & — This ampersand joins our static text with the dynamic value that comes next.
• SELECTEDVALUE('Sales'[Region], "All Regions") — This is where the magic happens.

Once you’ve entered the formula, press Enter. You won't see anything change on the report canvas yet, but your new measure is now ready to use.

Step 2: Link the Measure to Your Chart's Title

Now, you need to tell Power BI to use your new DAX measure as the source for the chart title instead of a static text.

1. Select the bar chart visual on your report canvas.
2. With the visual selected, go to the Format pane (paintbrush icon).
3. Expand the Title section, and then find the fx button next to the Title text box. Click it.
4. A dialog box titled "Title text - Title" will appear.
5. Click OK.

Step 3: Test Your Dynamic Title

Now for the fun part. The title of your bar chart should now say "Sales by Category for All Regions." Click on a single region in your slicer, say "East," and watch the title instantly update to "Sales by Category for East." If you clear the slicer selection, it will revert back to the default text "All Regions." You’ve successfully created an interactive, self-updating title!

Creating Dynamic Text Summaries with Card Visuals

Dynamic text isn't just for titles. You can create rich, narrative sentences that summarize multiple key metrics. This is incredibly useful for creating an at-a-glance summary at the top of your report.

Let’s create a dynamic sentence like: "For the selected product line, total sales were $1.2M, with an average of $350 per transaction."

Step 1: Ensure you Have Your Base Measures

Before you can combine metrics into a sentence, you need to have measures for each individual metric. For our example, let's say we already have these two simple measures:

• Total Sales: Total Sales = SUM('Sales'[Revenue])
• Average Sale Value: Average Sale = AVERAGE('Sales'[Revenue])

Step 2: Create the Combined Dynamic Text Measure

Now, we will write a DAX measure that assembles our sentence. This time, we'll also use the FORMAT function to make our numbers look clean and professional (e.g., adding currency symbols, commas, and controlling decimal places).

1. Right-click your table and select New measure.
2. Enter the following DAX formula:

KPI Summary = "For the " & SELECTEDVALUE('Products'[Product Line], "All Product Lines") & " product line, total sales were " & FORMAT([Total Sales], "$#,##0,,M") & ", with an average of " & FORMAT([Average Sale], "$#,##0") & " per transaction."

Breaking Down This More Advanced Formula:

• SELECTEDVALUE('Products'[Product Line], "All Product Lines") — Similar to before, it grabs the selected product line or defaults.
• FORMAT([Total Sales], "$#,##0,,M") — Formats the total sales:
• FORMAT([Average Sale], "$#,##0") — Formats the average sale as currency.

Step 3: Display the Measure in a Card or Text Box

The easiest way to show this narrative sentence is with a Card visual.

1. From the "Visualizations" pane, select the Card visual.
2. Drag the KPI Summary measure into the "Fields" area.
3. Adjust the font size in the Format pane under Callout value to make it readable.

Now, whenever a user interacts with the 'Product Line' slicer, this summary sentence updates with the correct numbers and context for that selection.

More Tips for Powerful Dynamic Text

• Combine Multiple Selections: You can create complex titles listening to multiple slicers. For example: "Sales for " & [Region Selection] & " in " & [Year Selection]. Create separate measures like [Region Selection] that use SELECTEDVALUE for each slicer.
• Handle No Selection Carefully: Use the default text in SELECTEDVALUE to ensure clarity when filters are cleared.
• Use UNICHAR for Icons: Add icons like up/down arrows with UNICHAR(). For example, UNICHAR(9650) (▲) or UNICHAR(9660) (▼). Pair with IF statements to show trends.
• Keep Readability in Mind: Avoid overly long sentences. Focus on concise, critical information.

Final Thoughts

Mastering dynamic text is a significant step in elevating your Power BI reports. Moving beyond static labels and titles creates a guided analytical experience that is clearer, more engaging, and far more professional. With simple DAX tools like SELECTEDVALUE and FORMAT, your reports can speak clearly, no matter how users slice the data.

While Power BI is powerful, it requires some learning. At Graphed, we designed this process to be simpler. Instead of writing formulas manually, you can ask natural language questions like, “Show me a dashboard of sales by region and product for the last quarter,” and get an interactive dashboard instantly. It combines the power of dynamic reporting with ease of setup, so you can focus on insights, not configuration.