Technical Documentation - Org Chart Drag and Drop

Drag & Drop Org Chart — Support & Help

Org Chart Drag & Drop by WorkforceVision Ltd.

Download and try the visual with our sample Power BI report directly from Microsoft AppSource:
Org Chart Drag and Drop - AppSource

Demo Video:
Org Chart Demo YouTube

For any issues or technical or licensing queries, please contact:
IraWatt@WorkforceVision.co.uk

For details on how data is handled and secured, please see our Data Security and Flow Overview.

Advanced Org Chart Guides

• Create Reporting Line Slicer/Filter Using Power Query (M)
• Create a Supervisor/Team Slicer/Filter For The Org Chart Visual
• Create Org Chart Using Microsoft Graph API Including Images
• Create 64bit Text For Image Field From a File or Folder
• Compress Image Text to Meet Power BI Size Requirements

Licensing

A license is required to use this visual. All users, both viewers and developers, need a valid license to access any features within the chart in Power BI Desktop or Power BI Service. Please see our FAQ page here: Licenses.

You can explore the full functionality by downloading the sample report. Alternatively, you can begin a 1-month free trial by purchasing a license and cancelling before the trial period ends. This requires permission to assign and manage licenses in your Microsoft Admin Portal.

Once purchased, a license needs to be assigned to individuals or groups in your organisation in order for them to use the visual. Licenses can be moved from one user to another without issue. Full instructions are available here: Microsoft License Management Guide .

Overview

Effective strategic workforce planning and organizational design are crucial for any business. This visualization helps you achieve these goals by offering:

Key Features

1. Comprehensive Visualization – Visualize thousands of employees in a single chart with clear hierarchy and structure.
2. Customizable Node Colors – Match your company branding or highlight departments and roles.
3. Enhanced Node Details – Display roles, contact info, and performance data directly on each node.
4. Interactive Drag & Drop – Restructure teams dynamically using drag-and-drop functionality.
5. Built-In Search – Quickly locate any employee by name for faster navigation.

Common Use Cases

• Organizational Restructures – Plan and visualize changes clearly before implementation.
• Mergers & Acquisitions – Align organizational structures and identify overlaps.
• Efficiency Reviews – Identify bottlenecks, duplicate roles, and workload imbalances.

Use this tool to optimize design, support strategic workforce planning, and drive business growth.

Data Field Reference

Field	Description
Employee ID	Unique identifier for each employee. Must be unique.
Manager ID	ID of the employee’s manager. Leave blank for top-level nodes.
Dotted-Line Relationship	Creates secondary connections for nodes. Must be in JSON format.
Name	Employee name.
Job Title	Employee title or position.
Colour	Optional hex code or named colour.
Extra Details	Additional information. Multiple lines supported.
Picture	Base64-encoded image string (up to 32,766 characters).
Line Style	Overrides default styling for primary connections using JSON.
Secondary / Cumulative Field	Numeric value aggregated across subordinate nodes.

Dotted Line Reporting (JSON Format)

Example JSON:

[
  { "ManagerID": "E1", "Comment": "Replacing", "Color": "#FF0000" }
]

For multiple connections:

[
  { "ManagerID": "E173", "Comment": "Applied for Role" },
  { "ManagerID": "E63", "Comment": "Mentorship Link" }
]

Line Style (JSON Format)

Allows you to overwrite the default styling (colour, dotted/solid, thickness) for any primary connection.

Example JSON:

{
  "Type": "Dotted",
  "Thickness": "2",
  "Color": "Red"
}

Property	Description
Type	Optional text. Types include Dotted, which changes the line from a solid line to dashes or dotted.
Thickness	Optional text. This changes the thickness of the line.
Color	Optional hex code or named colour (for example, #FF5733 or red). This changes only the line colour.

---

Base64 Image Guidelines

Images used in the Org Chart visual must be Base64-encoded text.

To ensure correct rendering:

1. Remove the prefix data:image/png;base64, before pasting.
2. Use UTF-8 encoding and plain text with no special formatting.
3. Validate using Base64 Image Decoder .

Notes

• Valid Base64 characters: A–Z, a–z, 0–9, +, /, and = (padding).
• If the image does not render, it is likely malformed or exceeds Power BI’s 32,766-character limit.
• You can reduce file size by compressing or resizing the image before encoding.

---

Moving Nodes

You can reorganize nodes to reflect new reporting structures.

Steps:

1. Click Organize at the top of the visual.
2. Left-click and drag a node to a new position.
3. The node and its entire reporting line will move together.
4. Use Undo / Redo to revert or repeat changes.
5. Click Cancel to discard unsaved changes.

---

Adding / Removing Nodes

Easily update your organization’s structure using the built-in Add and Remove functions.

To Add or Remove:

1. Click Add or Remove on the visual toolbar.
2. Complete the form and click Submit.
3. If Submit does not work:
   • The Employee ID may already exist.
   • The Manager ID does not exist in the dataset.
4. Removing a node also removes its entire reporting line. Move subordinates to a new manager first if you want to retain them.

---

Searching

Use the Search Bar to locate any employee by name.

• Supports partial matches, for example typing “Ann” finds “Anna” or “Annette”.
• When there are 10 or fewer results, they are displayed automatically for easy selection.

---

Conditional Formatting

Conditional formatting dynamically updates node colors based on numeric comparisons between two cumulative fields.

Behavior:

• Above Comparison Color: first value is higher.
• Below Comparison Color: first value is lower.
• Equal Comparison Color: values are equal or within the defined threshold.

To Configure:

1. Enable Conditional Formatting in the visual’s formatting settings.
2. Define your threshold percentage.
3. Refresh or move nodes and the formatting will automatically update.

---

Exporting as PDF

Easily export your chart for printing or sharing.

Steps:

1. Press CTRL + P
2. Choose Print as PDF
3. Select Landscape orientation
4. Click More Settings and enable Background Graphics
5. Click Save or Print

The exported PDF will include all node colors and backgrounds exactly as shown in Power BI.