Hierarchy vs. Display Folder in Power BI

Hierarchy

A hierarchy is a logical data structure that defines a drill-down path through related fields in a specific order. It creates a navigational structure for data exploration that follows a natural progression from broader to more granular levels.

Purpose & Functionality:

• Enables drill-down/drill-up navigation in visuals
• Defines a logical relationship between fields (e.g., Year → Quarter → Month → Day)
• Creates a single field in the Fields pane that expands to show levels
• Automatically appears in visuals as a single entity that users can expand
• Controls the order of drilling through data

Example: In the Contoso database, you might create a Date Hierarchy:

• Year
• Quarter
• Month
• Day

When you drag this hierarchy to a visual, users can click to drill from Year down to Quarter, then Month, then Day in that specific order.

Display Folder

A display folder is purely an organizational tool that groups related fields together in the Fields pane for better visual organization. It has no impact on functionality or data relationships.

Purpose & Functionality:

• Organizes fields into logical groupings in the Fields pane
• Reduces clutter by categorizing measures and columns
• Makes it easier to find related fields
• Has zero impact on how data works or relationships
• Purely cosmetic/organizational

Example: In a Sales table, you might create display folders like:

• "Revenue Metrics" (containing measures like Total Sales, Average Sale, Sales Growth)
• "Customer Metrics" (containing Customer Count, New Customers, Retention Rate)
• "Product Information" (containing Product Name, Category, Subcategory)

Major Differences

In essence: Hierarchies are about HOW users navigate data, while display folders are about HOW fields are organizedin the development environment.

Hierarchy vs. Display Folder in Power BI

Hierarchy

A hierarchy is a logical data structure that defines a drill-down path through related fields in a specific order. It creates a navigational structure for data exploration that follows a natural progression from broader to more granular levels.

Purpose & Functionality:

• Enables drill-down/drill-up navigation in visuals
• Defines a logical relationship between fields (e.g., Year → Quarter → Month → Day)
• Creates a single field in the Fields pane that expands to show levels
• Automatically appears in visuals as a single entity that users can expand
• Controls the order of drilling through data

Important: When you create a hierarchy, the original columns remain in the table at their original location. The hierarchy appears as an additional item, so you'll see both the individual columns AND the hierarchy structure.

Example: In the Contoso database, you create a Date Hierarchy with Year → Quarter → Month → Day. After creation, you'll see:

• Date table with all original columns (Year, Quarter, Month, Day) still visible
• PLUS a new "Date Hierarchy" item showing the drill-down structure

Display Folder

A display folder is purely an organizational tool that groups related fields together in the Fields pane for better visual organization. It has no impact on functionality or data relationships.

Purpose & Functionality:

• Organizes fields into logical groupings in the Fields pane
• Reduces clutter by categorizing measures and columns
• Makes it easier to find related fields
• Has zero impact on how data works or relationships
• Purely cosmetic/organizational

Important: When you assign fields to a display folder, the columns physically move into that folder. They are no longer visible in the table's main field list - they only appear inside the folder you created.

Example: In a Sales table, you create a "Revenue Metrics" display folder and add Total Sales, Average Sale, and Sales Growth measures. After creation:

• These measures are NO LONGER visible in the main Sales table field list
• They now only appear inside the "Revenue Metrics" folder
• The Sales table appears cleaner with fewer visible fields

Major Differences

Practical Example: Date Table

Scenario: You have a Date table with Year, Quarter, Month, and Day columns.

If you create a HIERARCHY:

Date Table
├── Year (still visible here)
├── Quarter (still visible here)
├── Month (still visible here)
├── Day (still visible here)
└── Date Hierarchy (NEW)
    ├── Year
    ├── Quarter
    ├── Month
    └── Day

Result: You see the columns twice - original locations AND inside hierarchy.

If you create a DISPLAY FOLDER:

Date Table
└── Date Components (folder)
    ├── Year (moved here)
    ├── Quarter (moved here)
    ├── Month (moved here)
    └── Day (moved here)

Result: The columns are ONLY inside the folder - main table appears cleaner.

In essence:

• Hierarchies = Functional navigation tool that creates a drill path while keeping original columns visible
• Display Folders = Organizational tool that physically relocates fields to reduce clutter in the Fields pane