Power BI donut charts add a native center value

Key insights

• The Center value setting displays a value in the middle of a donut chart.
• A separate Card visual is no longer needed for the common center-total layout.
• The setting is in the visual’s Format pane under the Visual tab.
• The source material does not state licensing, rollout details, or supported versions.

Power BI’s Center value setting puts a total or measure in the middle of a donut chart, replacing the need for a separately layered Card visual for that layout. It matters to report authors who want a chart’s central value to sit within the donut rather than require manual positioning of a second visual. Pragmatic Works describes the change in a short post, noting that the total can now appear in the chart’s center.

What it does

A donut chart uses a ring to show how categories contribute to a whole, leaving an open area in the middle. Report authors have often used that area to show a total or key metric by placing a Card visual on top of the chart. That approach involves positioning two separate visuals together.

Power BI’s Center value option makes the central value part of the donut chart itself. The supplied research notes say authors can show the represented total or choose a custom measure, and can configure value formatting and an optional label. This gives authors a native way to build the familiar donut-plus-total presentation without maintaining an overlay.

The change is primarily about report layout and maintenance: one visual can contain both the category breakdown and the center value. The source describes the feature as a way to avoid the fiddly alignment involved in stacking a Card over the chart. The research notes also describe the value as responding to report interactions, although the short source itself does not provide a detailed demonstration of those interactions.

Who it is for and what you need

This is relevant to Power BI report authors who use donut charts to show category shares alongside a total or measure. The supplied material does not identify a required license, plan, Power BI version, or prerequisite beyond having a donut chart to format. It also does not specify regional availability or a rollout stage.

The research notes say the feature is generally available and documented in current Power BI guidance, but no official Microsoft URL is included in the provided source list to verify that statement or give rollout details. Treat the exact availability and interface in a particular tenant or version as unconfirmed here. The Pragmatic Works item establishes the basic capability, not its licensing or deployment conditions.

The feature is specifically described for donut charts. The research notes say it is not supported for standard pie charts, which do not have a ring-shaped center area. If a report uses a pie chart, this material does not establish an equivalent native center-value option.

How it works

To configure the setting, select a donut chart and use its formatting controls. The research notes give the following navigation and options; exact labels may vary if the Power BI interface changes.

1. Select the donut chart in Power BI Desktop or the Power BI service.
2. Open the Format pane and select the Visual tab.
3. Turn on Center value.
4. Configure the value’s formatting and display units, and add a label if needed.
5. Choose a custom measure if you do not want to use the default total.

The measure supplies the value, while the report’s data context determines what that value represents. According to the research notes, the center value can respond to filtering, cross-highlighting, drill-down, and selection of chart slices. This makes it part of the chart’s interaction pattern rather than a separately placed object, though the source material does not walk through each behavior.

Authors who already use a Card overlay do not have to rebuild the report to understand the feature. They can test Center value on a donut chart and compare the result with the existing layout. The research notes say existing overlay reports continue to function; replacing the Card is an option for simplifying the canvas, not a stated requirement.

Limitations and open questions

The source material does not provide screenshots, a complete walkthrough, or a linked Microsoft document that confirms every configuration option. In particular, licensing, version requirements, rollout timing, and whether all described formatting choices are supported in every environment remain unspecified. The brief publisher description supports the central total use case, but not the full list of detailed behaviors.

The research notes describe limits: the center value applies to donut charts rather than pie charts, stays in the center rather than moving to an arbitrary position, and may be hidden when there is no data or the center area is too small for legible rendering. These details are not demonstrated in the short source. Authors should verify how the visual behaves with their own data and report dimensions.

For reports already built with a Card overlay, the older layout remains a named alternative in the material. The benefit of switching is fewer separately managed visuals and less manual alignment. The short source does not compare performance or establish that every overlay should be replaced, so the decision depends on the report’s design and tested behavior.

Sources

• Pragmatic Works: Power BI donut chart center value

Frequently asked questions

How do I show a total in the center of a Power BI donut chart?

Select the donut chart, open Format, choose the Visual tab, and turn on Center value. The supplied research notes say you can select a custom measure if you do not want the default total.

Does Power BI Center value work with pie charts?

The research notes describe Center value as a donut-chart feature, not a standard pie-chart feature. The provided short source does not discuss pie charts.

What license or Power BI version is required for Center value?

The supplied material does not state a license, version requirement, or rollout details. It also provides no official Microsoft reference to verify those conditions.