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Microsoft Power BI offers a user-friendly navigation experience. However, certain features may not be immediately apparent. With the following guidance, you will be able to navigate the platform with ease and efficiency.
We created this blog post so that anyone can try our Power BI business dashboards without having to contact us first. Of course we would be very happy if we could present the functions of Microsoft Power BI to you personally. Feel free to contact us .
The tips also apply to any other Power BI report and maybe even as inspiration for your future dashboards.
Power BI – filtering with a mouse click
Interacting with the elements, known as visuals, in Power BI is straightforward. A simple click with your mouse allows you to select and highlight a specific segment, which acts as a filter for other visuals on the page. To select multiple segments, hold down the CTRL key while clicking. This also allows you to cross-filter across different visuals. To clear a filter, simply click on the selected visual again.
Microsoft Power BI – Filter by selection
Picklists are common on Power BI reports. These filters often affect all visuals of the current report page or even all pages of the Power BI evaluation. Multiple entries in a list can be select with the CTRL key. Selected filter entries remain when you click on other visuals.
Power BI – Clear all filters
To remove all applied filters, use the “Clear all filters” button. You should note that the developer of the Microsoft Power BI report can determine which filters will also be removed. This function effectively resets the report to its original state. Removing any filters that were set by the user.
Power BI – Show additional information
Many visuals provide more information if you mouse over a segment and hold it there for a few seconds. The tool tip window always shows detailed values for the segment. The extended version call Quick info provides a small sub-report on which any visuals such as key figures, charts or maps are display. The developer of the Power BI dashboard determines what information is offere.
Power BI – Get detail information
On some visuals, right-clicking on a segment will give you the option to drill through. Hovering your mouse over this option will show you paths to dependent report pages. With a left click you leave the current page and open another one that is pre-filtered selected segment.
Power BI – Detect applied filters
You can filter the values of each visual by using other visuals or by performing drill-through operations. Your can find out which filters actually work by moving the mouse over the small funnel symbol at the top right edge of a visual and letting it rest. You can open a list that displays all the applied filters.
The subpages of a Power BI report can often also be reached via navigation buttons. There are some variants of navigation in Power BI (app menu, sidebar, etc.). We have embedded our Power BI business dashboards into our website. In this case, Power BI offers page navigation below the report. Click on the arrows to move from side to side. Sometimes pages are only accessible via navigation (e.g. the P&L page in our Power BI finance dashboard).
Further options for action
We have only described the basic options for action for our demo dashboards. There’s a whole bunch more. If you want to explore more then try all the options in the right-click menus. Also, always pay attention to the small symbols on the upper right edge of a visual. If you use your reports with your own Power BI license in the service, then also examine all the menu items above your report.
Conclusion
Navigating Microsoft Power BI is an intuitive process that includes various dynamics square such as filtering, drilling through, and clear all filters button. It allows users to easily explore and interact with the data represented in various visuals, by using simple mouse clicks and key combinations. Additionally, it also enables the users to navigate to dependent report pages, while preserving the context of the selected segment.