Power BI: New Hierarchy Control Guide

Key insights

• Hierarchy Visualization control
  The new Dynamics 365 Sales control visualizes hierarchical relationships in a clear, editable view; it is in public preview now and planned for general availability in October 2025.


• Single-table self-referential hierarchies
  Version 1 supports building hierarchies from any standard or custom Dataverse table (single-table scenarios) with customizable layouts and tile styling.


• Situational awareness
  The control highlights key connections—like shared decision makers or related opportunities—so sales teams can act faster without leaving the hierarchy view.


• Multi-table hierarchies (v2)
  Version 2, previewing in October 2025 and expected GA by February 2026, adds cross-table support to show nested relationships (for example, account → contact → opportunity) and choose between direct-child or full sub-hierarchy views.


• Visual customization & editing
  Features include multiple layout options, tile styling, and full inline editing, and the control works with both out-of-the-box and custom Dataverse tables.


• Legacy control deprecated
  The older hierarchy control was deprecated in October 2024 and scheduled for removal; this new visualizer answers long-standing needs for richer, in-place hierarchy navigation within Dynamics 365 Sales.

Video overview

In a recent YouTube video, Dian Taylor - [MVP] (Dynamics 365 Talk) reviews Microsoft’s new hierarchy visualization capabilities and explains how they affect users of model-driven apps. She begins by recalling the deprecated legacy control and sets context around why a fresh approach became necessary. Then, she walks viewers through the current public preview and outlines Microsoft’s timeline for wider release. As a result, the video gives both practical demonstrations and strategic perspective on the feature.

Taylor uses clear examples to show how the new control changes day-to-day work for sales teams who manage complex customer relationships. Moreover, she points out that Microsoft positioned this as a Sales-focused capability while hinting at a broader future roadmap. Consequently, viewers get a sense of where the feature now stands and where it may go next. The video thus balances hands-on tips with discussion of design choices and limitations.

What the new control offers

According to Taylor, the public preview delivers a modern visual tool called the Hierarchy Visualization control, which supports single-table self-referential hierarchies from any Dataverse table. She highlights its multi-layout options, customizable tile styling, and inline editing inside the visualization, features that make hierarchical data easier to read and act upon. Furthermore, the control maps well to common sales scenarios where accounts, contacts, and opportunities form nested relationships. This helps teams quickly spot shared decision makers and related deals without changing screens.

Taylor emphasizes that the control improves situational awareness by letting users explore relationships in a single, editable view. In addition, she shows how the control uses Dataverse metadata to build hierarchies and how admins can configure which fields appear on tiles. However, she also explains that the current preview supports only single-table hierarchies, which limits cross-entity visuals for now. Thus, the preview is useful but not yet a full replacement for more complex visualization needs.

Roadmap: version 2 and timing

In her discussion of Microsoft’s timeline, Taylor notes that Microsoft plans general availability in October 2025 as part of the 2025 Release Wave 2, and it will ship initial capabilities in the current public preview. Moreover, a more advanced version 2 is slated for preview later in October 2025 and for GA by February 2026, promising support for multi-table hierarchies. This next step aims to let users visualize cross-table relationships such as account → contact → opportunity across a single view, offering deeper context for complex organizational data.

Taylor warns viewers to watch the release dates carefully and to test in sandbox environments before switching to production. Also, she recommends that teams plan training and governance around these timelines so that adoption causes minimal disruption. Therefore, organizations should weigh the benefit of new features against the disruption of switching visualization tools. In short, the roadmap shows clear progress but requires measured implementation.

Trade-offs and challenges

Taylor openly addresses trade-offs: while a Sales-specific control can deliver tailored UX and faster time-to-value, it can also fragment the platform if other apps need similar visuals. She explains that building the feature inside Dynamics 365 Sales gave Microsoft a way to deliver specialized behavior quickly, but the decision limits immediate reuse across unrelated apps. Consequently, administrators and architects must decide whether to adopt the Sales-first approach or wait for a more platform-native solution.

She also discusses technical challenges such as performance when rendering large hierarchies, security trimming so users only see permitted records, and the complexity of inline editing across related records. Moreover, Taylor warns that overloading tiles with too much data can reduce clarity, so designers should balance detail with readability. Thus, teams must choose between a deep, data-rich visualization and a simpler, faster experience depending on user needs.

Practical implications for teams

Finally, Taylor offers practical advice for sales and IT teams planning adoption. She suggests starting with pilot groups that use single-table hierarchies and iterating on tile templates and layouts to find the right balance between information density and usability. Additionally, she recommends that admins monitor performance and security behavior during the preview phase to catch issues early.

Overall, the video frames the new Hierarchy Visualization control as a significant improvement for visualizing relationships in Dynamics 365 Sales, while also urging care in rollout and configuration. Consequently, teams that prepare for the trade-offs and test configurations will gain clearer, faster insights from their hierarchical data. In the end, Taylor’s clear, balanced presentation helps organizations weigh immediate value against longer-term platform choices.

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