Gauge Plume: 10 use cases for your Power BI gauges

These recipes reuse the Sales table and the Revenue, Target and Revenue LY measures of the getting started page. Each recipe starts from a Gauge Plume visual with Revenue in Value and Target in Target value.

How do I show one gauge per region?

You want to compare regions at a glance, each one against its target.

1. Drop the Sales[Region] column into One gauge per… (category). One gauge per region appears in a grid, with the region name above it.
2. Open Format › Layout › Order and choose % of target, descending: the region furthest ahead comes first.
3. Keep Same scale for every gauge on to compare amounts with each other; turn it off so that each gauge has its own maximum.
4. For a single row or column, set Columns (0 = automatic) (for example 1 for one column).

Result: a readable grid; clicking a gauge filters the other visuals of the page, Ctrl + click adds one, clicking an empty spot clears.

How do I color each region from its own target ★?

Red below 90% of the target, amber between 90 and 100%, green beyond, each region with its own target.

1. Format › Color ranges › Show: on.
2. Range limits: In % of the target ★ (watermark without a key; for free, drop measures into the Range limits field, see below).
3. Limit 1: 90, Limit 2: 100.
4. Keep Format › Gauge › Fill › Color of the range reached on: the arc and the value take the color of the range.

Result: with no DAX measure at all, a region at 108% of its target is green, a region at 92% is amber.

How do I show the percentage of target in the center?

1. Format › Callout value › Value › Content: % of the target (or Value and % of the target for both).
2. For rounding, Format › Callout value › Numbers › Decimals (-1 = auto): 0 or 1.

Result: "85%" in the center; the "▼ 15% below target" gap is still written underneath (turn it off in Format › Target › Gap to target under the value (▲▼)).

How do I track a cost or a lead time, where lower is better?

For a delivery lead time, being above the target is bad.

1. Format › Color ranges › Colors: Green → red (low is good). The gap to target follows this direction: above the target in red, below in green (the ▲▼ arrows keep the actual direction).
2. ★ With a measure in Comparison ★: Format › Comparison › A decrease is favorable on. The ▲▼ arrows keep the direction (up or down), the color says whether it is good: above the target in red, below in green.
3. With Range limits Values, type for example 2 and 3 (days) in Limit 1 and Limit 2.
4. A lead time doesn't have a "target" but a threshold: in the Target value well, double-click the measure and rename it Threshold for this visual.

Result: the label and the tooltip say "Threshold"; the gap stays neutral ("▲ 12% above target"). For another text without renaming the field, type it in Format › Target › Target name.

How do I use limits that come from measures?

Your limits change by product or region: write them in DAX.

Low limit = [Target] * 0.9   -- 90% of the target
High limit = [Target]        -- the target itself

1. Drop Low limit then High limit into Range limits (up to 4 measures: 5 ranges).
2. Turn on Format › Color ranges › Show. The Range limits and Number of ranges settings leave the pane: the measures decide.

How do I make a linear gauge or a bullet chart?

1. Format › Gauge › Shape › Gauge type: Horizontal linear, Vertical linear, Bullet chart or Thermometer ★.
2. Bullet chart: without ranges, the visual draws three gray bands (Stephen Few's qualitative reading), a thin bar for the value and a line for the target; with Color ranges, the bands take the range colors.
3. With One gauge per… and Format › Layout › Columns set to 1, you get a list of bullets, one per region, with its name on the left.

How do I animate the gauge month by month ★?

1. Drop the Sales[Month] column into Play axis ★ (watermark without a key). A play bar appears under the gauge: ▶ button, slider, start and end, speed.
2. Click ▶: the needle and the arc glide from one month to the next; the scale stays the same for the whole year.
3. Format › Playback ★: Duration of a frame (ms), Loop, Frame shown on opening.
4. ★ Needle memory (min. and max. reached): a thin arc shows the part of the scale already reached, with the highest and lowest values.

How do I add a history sparkline under the gauge ★?

1. Drop Sales[Month] into History (date) ★.
2. The gauge now shows the last period (December), and a sparkline draws the whole year under the gauge, with the target as a dashed line.
3. Format › History (sparkline): Shape (Area, Line, Columns), Height (% of the gauge), Target line, Dot on the last period.

How do I show several needles (target, last year, forecast) ★?

1. Format › Needle › Show: on.
2. ★ Needle for the target and ★ Needle for the comparison: the target and last year become needles (the comparison dotted).
3. Drop a Year-end forecast measure into Extra needles ★ (up to 3 measures).
4. A needle legend appears under the gauge (Needle legend (several needles)).
5. For a car speedometer: Format › Dial › Skin Sport (dashboard) ★ and Format › Needle › Shape Sport (counterweight) ★.

How do I drive the gauge color with DAX?

Green when the target is reached, blue otherwise.

Color versus target = IF ( [Revenue] >= [Target], "#2E7D4F", "#2A6F97" )

1. Drop the measure into Dynamic format, then, in the field well, Rename for this visual: gauge.fillColor.
2. Or, without renaming: Format › Gauge › Fill › Color, fx button, Field value, and pick the measure.

Every key you can drive (gauge type, ranges, needle…) is listed in the dynamic formats tutorial and on the fields and settings page.

Going further: getting started, fields and settings, the common basics, the visual page, support.