Introduction
The Parliament Chart by ChartPad is a custom Power BI visual that draws one dot per seat, arranged in an arch. It is the standard way to show the composition of a body: who holds how many seats, which blocs sit next to each other, and whether anyone has a majority.
Getting started
This page takes you from an empty report to a working parliament chart. No prior experience with custom visuals is required.
Data fields
The Parliament Chart is driven entirely by the fields you drag into its wells. This page covers every field — what it does, whether it's required, what it accepts — and exactly how your data is read.
Shaping your data
The Parliament Chart reads two different data shapes, and choosing between them is the first real decision you'll make. Both are fully supported — there is no "proper" one — and the visual switches between them automatically based on which fields you bind.
Sample data
Datasets you can paste straight into Power BI to try the Parliament Chart in both data shapes, without touching your own model.
Layout & arc
Everything about the shape of the arch — how wide it is, how the parties are ordered around it, and what sits in the middle. All of it lives on the Layout card in the Format pane.
Legend & colours
The legend names the parties and, optionally, counts their seats. Colours can come from three different places, and knowing which one wins saves a lot of confusion.
Interactivity
The Parliament Chart is a first-class Power BI citizen: clicking a party filters the rest of the page, the legend filters too, right-click opens Power BI's own menu, and the chart responds when other visuals filter it.
Use cases
Worked examples of what the Parliament Chart is good at — the data behind each one, the fields to bind, and the settings worth changing. Each is a starting point, not a rule.
Formatting reference
Every setting in the Parliament Chart's Format pane (the paint-roller icon), card by card, in pane order, with its range and default. For task-based walkthroughs, follow the links at the end of each section.
Troubleshooting & FAQ
Symptoms first, then the fix. If your problem isn't here, get in touch.
Licensing & support
How licensing works
Changelog
A summary of the main releases of the ChartPad Parliament Chart, with new features and bug fixes for each version. The most recent release is listed first.