Paginated Reports In Power BI: A Step-By-Step Guide

Paginated Reports in Power BI is a feature which enables users to create highly formatted, pixel-perfect reports for printing or generating PDFs. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced Power BI user, this blog will provide you with the necessary knowledge to harness the full potential of Paginated Reports. 

According to Statista, the Business Intelligence (BI) tools market is expected to grow to 12.18 billion GBP in the next few years. Tools like Power BI which can generate Paginated Reports, are bound to make it more popular across organisations. Keep reading this blog to discover the potential of Paginated Reports in Power BI and learn how to create perfect documents. 

Table of Contents

1) What are Paginated Reports in Power BI? 

2) Prerequisites for Paginated Reports 

3) How to create Paginated Reports in Power BI? 

4) Sharing Paginated Reports 

5) Conclusion 

What are Paginated Reports in Power BI?  

Paginated Reports are a Power BI feature that addresses specific reporting requirements that demand perfect formatting, complex layouts, and extensive printing capabilities. One of the key features of Paginated Reports is its ability to maintain consistent layout and formatting across multiple pages.  

You can design these reports with headers, footers, page numbers, and repeating rows or columns. The precise control over layout elements ensures that the report’s visual structure remains intact, regardless of the data volume. 

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Prerequisites for Paginated Reports 

Using the Paginated Report feature in Power BI has certain requirements you should meet beforehand. Some such requirements to use this feature are as follows:   

Premium License: To create, publish, and share Paginated Reports, you need a Power BI Pro or Premium license. These licenses provide access to advanced features and functionalities, including the ability to create and distribute Paginated Reports. Power BI Pro licenses are suitable for individual users, while Power BI Premium licenses cater to organisations with broader reporting needs and larger user bases. 

Power BI Desktop: Power BI Desktop is a powerful tool which lets you create and design Paginated Reports. It serves as the primary development environment for Paginated Reports and offers rich report creation, data modelling, and visualisation features. You can download Power BI Desktop for free from the Microsoft official website. 

Power BI Report Builder: Power BI Report Builder is a dedicated tool for designing and authoring Paginated Reports. It provides additional formatting capabilities and advanced features specifically tailored for Paginated Reports.   

Report Builder offers a familiar interface for users comfortable with tools like SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS). You can download Power BI Report Builder for free from the Microsoft Download Center. 

Data Source Access: Paginated Reports rely on data sources to retrieve and display information. It’s essential to have access to the required data sources, such as databases, Excel files, or online services. Ensure you have the credentials and permissions to connect to these data sources. If you’re working with organisational data, collaborate with your IT department or administrators to set up the appropriate connections and ensure data access. 

Data Modelling in Power BI: Paginated Reports often require well-structured data models to deliver accurate and meaningful insights. Having a solid understanding of data modelling concepts in Power BI is crucial.   

This includes creating relationships between tables, defining measures and calculated columns, and organising data to support your Paginated Reports’ reporting requirements. Knowledge of data modelling will help you design effective reports that reflect the underlying data accurately. 

Familiarity with Power BI Desktop: Having a basic understanding of Power BI Desktop is essential for working with Paginated Reports. Power BI Desktop is a versatile tool that connects various data sources, transforms and shapes data, and creates interactive visualisations.    

Familiarise yourself with the user interface, data transformation capabilities, and report creation process in Power BI Desktop. This knowledge will allow you to work with data sources effectively and craft meaningful reports. 

Knowledge of SQL: Paginated Reports often involve working with relational databases and executing Structured Query Language (SQL) queries. Having a foundational understanding of SQL will greatly assist you in retrieving, manipulating, and filtering data within your Power BI Paginated Reports.   

Familiarise yourself with SQL syntax and concepts such as SELECT statements, filtering data using WHERE clauses and performing joins to combine data from multiple tables. This knowledge will enable you to work with data sources effectively and craft meaningful reports. 

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How to create Paginated Reports in Power BI?   

Once you have met the prerequisites for creating Paginated Report, such as a Report Builder, you can proceed to create a report. The steps to create a Power BI Paginated Report are as follows: 

Create a new report: Once Power BI Report Builder is open, create a new report by clicking on the “File” option from the menu bar and then choosing “New.” This will open a blank canvas in Power BI where you can start building your Paginated Report. 

Design the report layout: In the report canvas, design the layout of your report by adding tables, charts, textboxes, and other report elements. Power BI Report Builder offers a variety of tools and options to customise the appearance of your report. You can adjust the element’s position and size, apply formatting, and define headers and footers to create a professional-looking report. 

Connect to data sources: To fill your report with data, you must connect to the relevant data sources. In Power BI Report Builder, click on the “Data” tab and select “Common data sources” to establish a connection to your preferred data source. You can connect to various data sources, including databases, Excel files, and web services. Follow the prompts to provide the necessary credentials and configure the connection settings. 

Define datasets: After connecting to your data source, define datasets that will serve as the foundation for your report in Power BI. A dataset represents a subset of data that you want to include in your report. In the "Data" tab, click "Dataset" and specify the query or filters to retrieve the desired data. You can preview the data and adjust it as needed to ensure the dataset aligns with your reporting requirements. 

Add report elements and bind data: Once you have your dataset defined in Power BI, it’s time to add report elements such as tables, charts, and textboxes to your report canvas. Select the desired element from the toolbar and drag it onto the canvas. To bind the report element to your dataset, right-click on the element, choose “Properties,” and select the appropriate dataset field(s) to populate the element with data. 

Implement parameters and filters: To make your report interactive, you can implement parameters and filters in Power BI. Parameters allow users to specify input values, such as date ranges or product categories, which dynamically filter the data displayed in the report. In the “Data” tab, click “Parameters” to define the parameters and configure their properties. You can then apply filters to your datasets based on these parameters, enabling users to customise the report output. 

Preview and fine-tune the Report: With the report elements and data in place, it’s time to preview the report and make any necessary adjustments. Click on the “Preview” tab in Power BI to see how the report will appear when generated. Take note of any formatting issues, alignment problems, or missing data. Return to the report canvas to make the necessary modifications until you achieve the desired layout and presentation. 

Save and publish the report: Once satisfied with the report design, save the report file (.rdl) to your desired location. You can now publish the report to the Power BI Service, where you can share it with others and take advantage of additional features such as data refresh and collaboration. 

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Sharing Paginated Reports  

After creating your Power BI Paginated Reports, the next step is to publish and share them with the intended audience. Publishing your reports to the Power BI Service enables you to leverage additional features, collaborate with others, and ensure widespread accessibility. Some guidelines on sharing your Paginated Reports are as follows:   

Save the Paginated Report: Before publishing, save your Paginated Report file (.rdl) to a local directory. This ensures that you have a Power BI backup and allows easy access during the publishing process. 

Sign in to Power BI Service: Open a web browser and sign in to the Power BI Service using your Power BI account credentials. Ensure you have permission to publish reports and access the workspace where you want to publish the Paginated Report. 

Navigate to workspaces: In the Power BI Service, navigate to the desired workspace to publish the Paginated Report. Workspaces provide a collaborative environment where you can organise and manage your reports. 

Select “Get Data” and choose “Paginated Report”: Within the Power BI workspace, click on “Get Data” from the left-hand pane and select “Paginated Report” from the available options. This initiates the process of publishing a Paginated Report. 

Choose the report file: In the Paginated Report publishing dialogue, choose the Paginated Report file (.rdl) that you saved in Step 1. Power BI will upload the report file to the workspace. 

Specify report settings: Provide a suitable name for the report and add a description to help users understand its purpose and content. Additionally, choose the desired settings in Power BI for data refresh, security, and access permissions. You can configure who can view and interact with the report based on user roles and groups. 

Validate and publish the report: Power BI will validate the Paginated Report for errors or compatibility issues. If any issues are detected, review the error messages and make the necessary adjustments to the report in Power BI Report Builder. Once the report passes validation, click on the “Publish” button to upload the report to the workspace. 

Access and interact with the published report: Once published, it becomes available for users within the Power BI workspace to access and interact with. Users can view the report, apply filters, and export it to PDF, Excel, or PowerPoint formats. They can also leverage interactive features such as drill-through actions and parameter selection to customise the report output. 

Share the report with others: You have several options to share the Paginated Report with users outside the workspace. You can share a direct report link, embed the report in other applications or websites using Power BI embedded, or distribute the report through email subscriptions. Consider the sharing method best suits your intended audience and their accessibility requirements. 

Monitor and manage the report: As your Paginated Report is being used and shared, monitoring its performance and usage is essential. Power BI provides various monitoring and management capabilities, such as usage analytics, data refresh monitoring, and access control. Regularly review these insights to ensure that the report continues to meet the needs of your users and make necessary adjustments as required.



 

Conclusion 

Paginated Reports in Power BI offers powerful reporting capabilities, and this blog covers everything related to this powerful feature in Power BI. We covered the prerequisites, sharing process and other details of Paginated Reports in this blog. Hopefully, reading this blog will aid you in creating informative reports by using Power BI Desktop, connecting to data sources, and designing layouts.