How to Change Time Format in Power BI

Your Power BI report looks great, but the default time format is displaying as "17:30" when you really need "5:30 PM." It’s a small detail that can make a big difference in how easily your team or clients can read and understand your data. This article will walk you through several methods to change the time format in Power BI, from the quick and easy fixes to more powerful and flexible solutions using DAX and Power Query.

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Why Does Time Formatting Matter?

Before jumping into the "how," it's helpful to understand the "why." Proper time formatting isn't just about making things look nice, it's about clarity, consistency, and user experience. When your audience can grasp data at a glance without having to mentally convert 24-hour time or figure out if seconds are included, your reports become much more effective.

Common reasons to change time formats include:

• Audience Preference: Some audiences prefer a 12-hour clock (e.g., 5:30 PM), while others, particularly in international or operational contexts, require a 24-hour format (e.g., 17:30).
• Required Precision: For high-frequency data, like server logs or manufacturing timestamps, you might need to include seconds (hh:mm:ss). For a sales report, just the hour and minute (hh:mm) is often enough.
• Regional Standards: Different regions have different standard ways of displaying time. Aligning your format with local conventions makes reports feel more intuitive to a global audience.

Fortunately, Power BI gives you several ways to control this. Let's explore the three primary methods.

Method 1: The Quick Fix Using the Modeling Tab

This is the simplest and most common way to change a time format. It changes how the time is displayed in your visuals without altering the underlying data. This is perfect for quick adjustments after you’ve already loaded your data.

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Navigate to either the Report View or Data View in Power BI.
2. In the Data pane on the right side of the screen, find and select the column that contains the time data you want to format.
3. Once the column is selected, a new contextual menu called Column tools will appear in the top ribbon. Make sure you are on the Modeling tab in earlier versions.
4. In the Formatting section of the ribbon, you’ll see a Format dropdown menu. Click it to reveal a list of predefined date, time, and text formats.
5. From the dropdown, you can select a standard time format. Power BI often provides a few common options. If you don't see what you need, you can select it from the "Time" category.

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Custom Display Formats

If the predefined options aren't quite right, you can create your own custom format string. In the same Formatting section, click on the format dropdown and select "Custom."

Here are some of the most common format strings you might use:

• hh:mm AM/PM – Standard 12-hour format with AM/PM (e.g., 05:30 PM).
• HH:mm – 24-hour military time (e.g., 17:30). Note the capital HH.
• HH:mm:ss – 24-hour time including seconds (e.g., 17:30:15).
• h:mm AM/PM – 12-hour format without a leading zero for the hour (e.g., 5:30 PM).
• h:mm:ss – 12-hour format with seconds but no AM/PM and no leading zero.

This method is fantastic for quick visual changes but can be limiting if you need more complex logic or need to combine time with other text.

Method 2: Gaining Full Control with DAX

When you need more flexibility - like creating a new column with a specific format or combining time values with text - it's time to turn to DAX (Data Analysis Expressions). Using the FORMAT function in a calculated column gives you precise control over your output.

Think of this method as creating a brand new, perfectly formatted version of your time column while leaving the original data untouched. This is useful when you need the same time value displayed in different ways across your report.

How to Create a Formatted Time Column with DAX:

1. Go to the Data View in Power BI.
2. From the Home tab, click New Column. This will add a new column to your table and open the formula bar.
3. Use the FORMAT function with the following syntax:

New Time Column = FORMAT('YourTableName'[YourTimeColumn], "format_string")

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Practical DAX Formatting Examples

Let's say your table is named SalesData and your time column is called OrderTime. Here’s how you would use DAX for common scenarios:

Example 1: Create a 12-Hour AM/PM Format

To display the time in a classic AM/PM format, use this formula:

Time 12hr = FORMAT(SalesData[OrderTime], "hh:mm AM/PM")

This will convert a value like 14:45:00 into the text string "02:45 PM".

Example 2: Create a 24-Hour (Military Time) Format

For operations or logistics reports, a strict 24-hour format might be needed. The key here is using an uppercase "HH".

Time 24hr = FORMAT(SalesData[OrderTime], "HH:mm")

This would display 14:45:00 as "14:45".

Example 3: Including Seconds

If you need millisecond-level precision to show up as full seconds, just add "ss" to your format string.

Detailed Time 24hr = FORMAT(SalesData[OrderTime], "HH:mm:ss")

This displays 14:45:33 as "14:45:33".

Example 4: Combining Time with Text

Perhaps you want to create a column for a label that says "Transaction occurred at [time]". DAX makes this simple.

Transaction Label = "Transaction occurred at " & FORMAT(SalesData[OrderTime], "h:mm AM/PM")

The result would be a text string like "Transaction occurred at 2:45 PM".

A quick tip: When you use DAX's FORMAT function, the output is always a text string. This means you can't use it for mathematical calculations or on a graph axis that requires a true time value. It's meant for display purposes only.

Method 3: Formatting in Power Query for Permanent Changes

If your source data is messy or you want your time format to be correctly set for all future reports that use this data, the best place to make the change is in the Power Query Editor. Changes made here happen before the data is even loaded into your Power BI model, making your dataset cleaner and more standardized from the start.

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Step-by-Step Guide to Formatting in Power Query:

1. From the Home tab in Power BI, click Transform data to open the Power Query Editor.
2. In the preview window, find and select the column containing your time data.
3. Right-click the column header or navigate to the Transform tab in the ribbon.
4. Click the Data Type icon (it might look like a calendar and clock, a question mark, or ABC/123).
5. From the context menu that appears, select Time. Power Query will attempt to convert and standardize the column to a time data type.

Handling Regional Nuances with "Using Locale"

Sometimes, raw data files can be tricky, especially if the source uses a different regional format. If a direct conversion to "Time" fails or gives you errors, Power Query has a powerful tool to handle this.

1. Right-click the column header again.
2. Go to Change Type > Using Locale....
3. A new window will pop up. First, select Time as the data type you want to convert to.
4. Second, in the Locale dropdown, choose the country or region that matches the formatting of your source data. For example, if your time data is from a system in Germany, you would select "German (Germany)."
5. Click OK. Power Query will now use the correct regional rules to interpret and convert your time data accurately.

Changing the type in Power Query sets the foundation. Once it's loaded into Power BI, you can still use Method 1 (the Modeling Tab) to tweak the final visual display (e.g., from 24-hour to 12-hour format).

Final Thoughts

Getting your time formats just right in Power BI is a common task, and as you've seen, you have multiple ways to tackle it. You can make quick display changes in the Modeling tab, get complete creative control with DAX calculated columns, or apply permanent changes at the source using Power Query. Choosing the right method depends on whether you need a quick fix, a flexible custom label, or a foundational data transformation.

Wrestling with toolbars, DAX syntax, and Power Query settings is a rite of passage for any data analyst, but it does consume valuable time you could be using to find insights. At Graphed, we built a tool that lets you bypass this complexity. Instead of learning format strings, you simply connect your data sources and ask questions in plain English, like "Show me sales by hour of day for last week as a bar chart." We instantly generate the visualizations you need, allowing you to get answers in seconds, not hours.