Step-by-Step Guide

1. Load Your Data

Open Power BI Desktop.

Import your data by clicking on Get Data from the Home tab and selecting your data source (e.g., Excel, SQL Server, etc.).

Load the data into Power BI by following the prompts.

2. Create a Matrix Visualization

Navigate to the Report view by clicking on the Report icon in the left-hand pane.

Select the Matrix visualization from the Visualizations pane on the right side of the screen.

Drag and drop fields from the Fields pane into the Values area of the Matrix visualization. This will populate your table with the selected data.

3. Customize Your Matrix

Adjust column order by dragging the fields up or down within the Values area.

Format the matrix by clicking on the Format icon (paint roller) in the Visualizations pane. Here, you can adjust settings like font size, column width, and background color.

Sort the data by clicking on the column headers within the matrix.

Example

Here's a simple example to illustrate:

Load the Sales Data:

Import your sales data into Power BI.

Create the Matrix:

Select the Matrix from the "Visualizations" pane.

Add Fields:

Drag the "Subcategory" field to the "Rows" area.

Drag the "Region" field to the "Columns" area.

Drag the "Sales" field to the "Values" area.

Customize:

Use the "Format" pane to adjust the appearance.

Try following formatting options

1. Apply / change background colour 

Go to "Format" - Select the option "Cell elements" under "Visual" - under "Apply settings to" select "Sales" - turn on background colour 

2. Apply / change Font colour 

Go to "Format" - Select the option "Cell elements" under "Visual" - under "Apply settings to" select "Sales" - turn on font colour 

3. Apply data bar 

Go to "Format" - Select the option "Cell elements" under "Visual" - under "Apply settings to" select "Sales" - turn on data bar

4. Apply icons to profit column

Go to "Format" - Select the option "Cell elements" under "Visual" - under "Apply settings to" select "Sales" - turn on icons

Tip

click on "fx" button under icon and check for various conditional formatting options 

5. Change data bar colour according to profit to red and green 

Go to "Format" - Select the option "Cell elements" under "Visual" - under "Apply settings to" select "Profit" - turn on data bar - click on "fx" button under icon - a pop-up will appear - select "Green" colour for positive bar and "Red" colour for negative bar - click on "OK". - Observe dataset - Columns with positive profit will have green bars while those with negative  profit will have red bars.  

6. Show only data bar (Show profit without figures) 

Go to "Format" - Select the option "Cell elements" under "Visual" - under "Apply settings to" select "Profit" - turn on data bar - click on "fx" button under icon - a pop-up will appear - there is a checkbox "Show bars only" - check this box- Click on "OK" - Observe dataset - Columns will have only data bars without figures.