Build the report shape first. Then tune the details.

Quick start

1. First useful render

1. Add the visual to the report canvas.The visual requires a date field to render.
2. Populate the Date role.This is the only mandatory field.
3. Add one or more value fields.You can use up to five measures.
4. Start in month or year view.These views usually validate data shape fastest.
5. Use the navigation bar to move across time.The visual supports multi-year, year, quarter, month, week, day, and hour navigation.

Field roles

2. What goes where

• DateRequired. The visual uses it to place values into day, week, month, quarter, year, and hour buckets.
• ValueOptional but usually essential. You can add up to five measures.
• CategoryOptional. Useful when you want grouped context or category-aware tooltips.
• TooltipsOptional. Add extra fields for hover and focus detail.
• Tooltip CustomOptional. Use this when you want more control over tooltip field visibility and ordering.

Recommended starting point: Date + one Value. Add category and tooltip fields only after the visual already tells the core story.

Views and navigation

3. Choose the time grain that matches the question

The navigation bar can run in off, minimal, full, or auto mode. For most reports, auto is the safest default.

Formatting

4. Tune the signal, not just the colors

• ColorsSet min, mid, max, and no-data colors. Use month-context scaling only when local contrast matters more than global comparability.
• LegendSwitch between linear, log, quantile, and custom thresholds depending on data distribution.
• LabelsControl month, weekday, tile, year, quarter, week, day, and hour typography separately.
• Week setupChoose ISO, Sunday-based, or fiscal week numbering to match the business calendar.
• InteractionTile click behavior can favor drill, range selection, or smart behavior depending on the report design.

Tooltips and categories

5. Add context without making the canvas heavy

Tooltip fields are best used for dimensions or descriptive values that would be too expensive to render directly on the canvas. Category fields are useful when the viewer needs to understand who or what contributed to a specific cell.

• Use categories for grouped reasoning.For example: team, region, product family, or status band.
• Use tooltip fields for detail on demand.For example: exact values, labels, owner, SLA, or comparison notes.
• Keep tooltip content selective.If everything appears in the tooltip, nothing feels important.

Licensing

6. Understand the tier behavior before rollout

The AppSource build uses Microsoft host-managed licensing. It does not call an external licensing API for entitlement checks.

Troubleshooting

7. Common issues and what to check first

• The visual is blank.Check that a valid date field is assigned and that the report has data after filters are applied.
• The visual seems truncated.Check the active licensing tier and row limits. FREE and PROFESSIONAL have capacity ceilings.
• The wrong time grouping is visible.Verify the active view and week mode before changing data preparation.
• Colors feel misleading.Review the legend scale mode and any custom thresholds.
• Tooltip content is noisy.Reduce tooltip fields and keep only those that help interpret a selected cell.

If the issue is environment-specific, use the support page and include the Power BI environment, visual version, active tier, sample shape of the data, and a clear description of expected versus actual behavior.