Daniel has attended:
Power BI Modelling, Visualisation and Publishing course
Date format - Desktop v Workspace
Hi,
I have created a dashboard in Power BI desktop, the report contains several date variables and I have put the in the following format dd/mm/yyyy.
When I publish the report to the workspace, the date format is coerced to mm/dd/yyyy.
I cannot find a way to get the date format to go back to the dd/mm/yyyy format in the workspace. Ideally I would like this coercion not to take place.
Please can you advice me on this?
Thanks,
Daniel
RE: Date format - Desktop v Workspace
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for the forum question.
This issue you're encountering—where date formats change from dd/mm/yyyy in Power BI Desktop to mm/dd/yyyy in the Power BI Service (workspace)—is a common one, and it's typically related to regional settings rather than the report itself.
Why This Happens
Power BI Service (the online workspace) uses the browser's locale settings or the Power BI tenant's regional settings to determine how to display dates. So even if you've formatted your dates in Power BI Desktop, the service may override them based on these settings.
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How to Fix It
Here are a few approaches you can try:
1. Set the Format Explicitly in Power BI Desktop
• Go to Model View.
• Select your date column.
• In the Properties pane, set:
• Data type: Date
• Format: Custom
• Custom format: dd/mm/yyyy
This ensures the format is embedded in the model, but it still might be overridden by the service.
2. Use the FORMAT() Function in DAX
Create a new column with a fixed string format:
This converts the date to a text string, which won’t be reformatted by the service. However, you lose date-based filtering and sorting unless you create a separate sort column.
3. Change Regional Settings in Power BI Service
• Go to Power BI Service.
• Click on your profile picture (top right) > Settings.
• Under General > Regional Settings, set your preferred locale (e.g., English (United Kingdom)).
• Save and refresh your report.
4. Set the Report Locale in Power BI Desktop
• File > Options and settings > Options.
• Under Current File > Regional Settings, set the locale to English (United Kingdom).
This helps ensure consistency when publishing.
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Best Practice
If your report is for users in a specific region (e.g., UK), it's best to:
• Set the locale in both Desktop and Service.
• Use FORMAT() for critical date visuals.
• Educate users to set their browser or Power BI profile locale accordingly.
Kind regards
Jens Bonde
Microsoft Office Specialist Trainer
Tel: 0207 987 3777
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