I’ve run into a frustrating issue with matrix visuals in our enterprise reports after updating to Power BI Desktop November 2025. We have several complex matrix reports with conditional formatting applied to specific columns, and the auto-expand feature that previously worked flawlessly has stopped functioning correctly.
The matrix columns are set to auto-expand to fill available space, but they’re now staying at their minimum width despite having plenty of canvas space. This is particularly problematic in our executive dashboards where visual real estate matters. The issue only appears on matrices with conditional formatting rules applied - matrices without formatting still auto-expand normally.
I’ve verified the matrix properties show auto-expand enabled, and I’ve tried removing and re-adding the visual with no success. Has anyone else experienced this behavior after the November update? Could there be an interaction between the conditional formatting engine and the auto-expand feature that’s causing this?
This is a known issue that Microsoft acknowledged in their November 2025 release notes under ‘Known Issues - Matrix Visuals’. They mentioned it affects matrices where conditional formatting is applied to columns that use auto-expand. The engineering team is working on a fix targeted for the January 2026 update. In the meantime, the recommended workaround is to use fixed column widths with explicit pixel values for formatted columns, while keeping auto-expand enabled only for unformatted columns.
I’ve implemented a comprehensive solution for this issue across multiple enterprise reports. Here’s what works reliably:
Understanding the Root Cause:
The November 2025 update modified the matrix visual rendering pipeline to optimize conditional formatting performance. However, this created a conflict where the formatting engine now calculates column widths before the auto-expand feature runs, effectively locking the widths at their minimum values.
Addressing Matrix Visual Auto-Expand Feature:
Create a two-tier column structure in your matrix. Use row groups or column groups without formatting for the outer structure that needs to auto-expand, and apply conditional formatting only to inner nested columns with fixed widths. This separates the layout responsibility from the formatting responsibility.
Handling Conditional Formatting Interaction:
The key is to use DAX measures specifically designed for formatting that don’t conflict with display measures. Create hidden calculation measures for your formatting rules:
_FormatHelper =
IF([Actual Sales] > [Target Sales], 1, 0)
Then reference this helper measure in your conditional formatting rules instead of directly using the display measures. This breaks the circular dependency between formatting and layout calculations.
Power BI November 2025 Update Compatibility:
Enable the ‘Legacy Matrix Rendering’ option in File > Options > Preview Features as a temporary measure. This reverts the matrix visual to the pre-November rendering engine while maintaining all other November features. Microsoft confirmed this legacy option will be supported through at least June 2026 to give users time to adapt their reports.
Additionally, for matrices where you absolutely need both auto-expand and background color formatting, use the Format Painter approach: apply conditional formatting to a duplicate measure column, hide the original unformatted column, and set the formatted column to a fixed reasonable width while allowing surrounding columns to auto-expand. This gives the appearance of auto-expand while working within the November update’s constraints.
Test thoroughly in Power BI Desktop before publishing to the service, as the rendering behavior can differ slightly between desktop and service environments with this update.
I’ve seen similar behavior in my client deployments. The November 2025 update introduced some changes to how conditional formatting is rendered in matrix visuals, which seems to affect the auto-expand calculations. Try checking if your conditional formatting rules are using field-level or visual-level scope - I found that field-level rules sometimes interfere with the layout engine’s width calculations.
We encountered this exact issue last week. The problem appears to be related to how conditional formatting now locks certain column properties during the rendering cycle. In our case, matrices with background color formatting were most affected. As a temporary workaround, we switched some of our conditional formatting to use icons instead of background colors, which seemed to restore the auto-expand functionality. Not ideal, but it kept our dashboards functional while we investigate further.
Thanks for the suggestions. I tested switching to icon-based formatting on one of our revenue matrices, and you’re right - the auto-expand started working again. However, our stakeholders strongly prefer the background color approach for highlighting KPIs. Has anyone found a way to preserve both the conditional formatting appearance and the auto-expand behavior? I’m wondering if there’s a specific formatting configuration that avoids this conflict.
I did some testing in our development environment and found that the issue is specifically triggered when conditional formatting rules reference measure values that also appear in the matrix column headers. The November update changed how the visual calculates column widths when measures are involved in both the data display and the formatting logic. Try creating separate measures for your formatting rules that don’t directly appear in the matrix structure - this separation seems to allow the auto-expand to function correctly.