Power BI Now Has Keyboard Accessible Visual Interactions

The March 2019 release of Power BI Desktop has brought us keyboard accessible visual interactions. One of Power BI’s natural strengths is that you can click on a data point within a visual and have it cross-highlight or cross-filter the other visuals on a page. But keyboard-only users weren’t able to use this feature until now. This greatly raises the accessibility of the Power BI report consumption experience.

Below is a demonstration of interacting with a visual using keyboard commands. Notice how I can select specific data points within the line chart, and the other charts on the page filter based upon the selection.

If you are a person that prefers to use a keyboard over a mouse, this might also be something you want to try. Relevant keyboard commands include:

• Ctrl + right arrow: Move focus into the chart area of the visual
• Tab or Arrow keys: navigate between data points (or legend items in a chart that contains a legend)
• Enter or Space: select a data point within a visual
• Ctrl + Enter or Ctrl + Space: select multiple data points within a visual
• Ctrl + shift + c: clear all selections

I think this was the last big missing piece of keyboard accessibility. I’m excited to see its impact on users. If you try keyboard accessible visual interactions, or are taking advantage of keyboard accessibility in Power BI in general, please let me know how you are liking it. Tweet me at @mmarie or send me a note via my blog contact form.

View all posts by Meagan Longoria