Should my data be in short format or long format to do visualization?

[Anonymous]

My data are in long format, like below, now. I am wondering should I convert it to a short format and then import it to Power BI to do the analysis and visualization? Thanks!

ID	Indicator	Value
1	Sales	615
1	Costs	55
1	Profits	500
2	Sales	100
2	Costs	2
2	Profits	98
3	Sales	45
3	Costs	3
3	Profits	42

[amitchandak · Accepted solution]

@Anonymous , I am not very clear on the Long format. But seem like you have measure/columns/kpi as rows. If they are not too many unpivot.

https://radacad.com/pivot-and-unpivot-with-power-bi
Transpose : https://yodalearning.com/tutorials/power-query-helps-transposing-data/

Usually, we have sales, cost, and profit as columns.

But current format has its own advantage and disadvantages.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, amitchandak. You already answered my question. I just want to know what is the best format of data to do visualization in PowerBI.

[parry2k]

@Anonymous what is your definition of short and long. Fact tables are always thin and long and dimension tables can be wide and short. 

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[Anonymous]

Hi, Parry2k, thanks for your reply.

My definition of short format is that: each indicator is in one column and each row is for each subject (ID). In other words, a subject’s repeated responses will be in a single row, and each response is in a separate column.

My definition of long format is that: as the table I showed, each subject (ID) will have data in multiple rows.