In this chapter, you will learn about the various dashboard options available in Power BI.
Exploring Different Datasets
Power BI tool provides a lot of options to explore the datasets. When you are working on your BI report or dashboards, you can use Power BI to look for quick insights. Navigate to the datasets section on the left side of the tool UI, click the 3 dots (…), and click Get Insights.
When you select the Get Insights option, it runs all the algorithms in your dataset and once it is complete, you get a notification that insight is ready for your dataset.
You can click the View Insights option and the tool will show you all chart representations of your data insights. You can any time go to this option and check the insights option in your dataset.
When you publish a report to the Power BI service, you also get an option of Quick Insight on the first page.
Creating Dashboards
In Power BI, you can create a dashboard by pinning visualizations from BI reports that are published using the Power BI desktop. All the visualizations that are created using the Power BI service are also available for pinning to create dashboards.
In Power BI, if you want to pin a visual, open the BI report on the Power BI service. At the top of the visual, select the pin icon.
When you use the Pin option as shown in the above screenshot, a new dialog box appears as shown in the following screenshot. It asks you to create a new dashboard or select an existing dashboard to put the visual from the dropdown list. If you don’t have an existing dashboard, then this option is greyed out.
Once you click the Pin button, you will get a confirmation that your visualization is “Pinned” to the dashboard. You can click My Workspace and check the dashboard.
Once your dashboard is created, you can use different options to configure the dashboard.
Sharing Dashboards
When you publish your BI report to the Power BI service, you can share reports and dashboards with other users in your organization. Sharing a dashboard is very easy in Power BI.
You have to open the dashboard in the Power BI service and click the Share option at the top right corner of the screen.
The sharing feature is only available with the Power BI Pro version. You can also use the 60-days free trial for Power BI Pro as shown in the following screenshot.
Click the Try Pro for free to start a trial. Select the Start Trial and Finish, and you will get a confirmation that the 60-days trial has started. When you click the Share dashboard, you will get options in a new window. You have to enter the email Id of the user with whom you want to share this dashboard.
You can allow recipients to share the dashboard with other users or send email notifications. You can also provide a direct URL to users and they can access the dashboard directly.
Tiles in Dashboard
When you check More Options in the dashboard, you can see an option of Focus Mode and other different options in the dashboard.
Focus Mode is used to take a closer look at your dashboard data. When you have multiple values in the dashboard, you can use the Focus Mode for a better view of the objects in the dashboard. If there are any columns, which are not shown due to space issues, you can also view those using the Focus Mode.
Focus Mode is used to see all the data in the dashboard/report. It is also possible to pin the visual directly from Focus Mode to a different dashboard by selecting the Pin icon.
To exit the Focus Mode, you can select the Exit Focus Mode option.
You can also use the Tile Details option to edit few formatting changes. This option allows changing the tile’s title, subtitle, last refresh time and date, and other details, such as creating a custom link for your dashboard.
Data Gateway
You can connect on-premise data sources to the Power BI service using a data gateway. You can also use a version of data gateway that doesn’t include any administration configuration and it is called Personal Gateway.
You can set up Personal Gateway by logging into the Power BI service. You have to select the download icon on the top right-hand corner of the screen and click Data Gateway.
As per Power BI’s official site, using Data Gateway with the on-premises gateways, you can keep your data fresh by connecting to your on-premises data sources without the need to move the data. Query large datasets and benefit from your existing investments. The gateways provide the flexibility you need to meet individual needs and the needs of your organization.
To set up download gateways, you have to run the setup till it is downloaded and the installation wizard is complete.
You have an option to select either −
- On-premise data gateway or
- Personal gateway (Power BI only)
Once you launch Power BI Gateway, you have to log in to the Power BI gateway service.
You can also enable automatic updates by navigating to Schedule Refresh and the frequency of the schedule.
