Table of Contents

Power BI Report User Guide

This guide shows all users how to navigate, filter, analyse, and export Power BI reports, with a focus on Feed Dynamics Reports features.

For further information refer to: Official Power BI Documentation

1. Navigating a Report

Pages / Tabs

  • Power BI reports are often multi-page; use the tabs on the left-hand side (or bottom, depending on layout) to switch between pages.
  • Hover over a page tab to see a tooltip description.
  • Pages may be organized by theme (e.g., Sales, Inventory, Financials).

Visual Navigation

  • Click any visual (charts, tables, KPIs) to filter or highlight related visuals (cross-filtering).
  • Hover over visuals to view tooltips with detailed metrics.
  • Right-click options may include:
    • Drill up / Drill down in hierarchies
    • See records to view underlying rows
    • Export data

2. Understanding Slicers

Slicers are interactive filters allowing users to dynamically select data points.

How to Use

  • Click a value to filter.
  • Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac) for multi-select.
  • Click the eraser icon to clear selections.

Common Slicer Types

  • Dropdowns: Expand to select one or multiple values.
  • Buttons / Tiles: Toggle values on/off.
  • Date slicers: Select specific dates or ranges.
  • Relative date slicers: Automatically filter dynamic periods (e.g., last 30 days, this month).

3. Filters and Interactions

Filters Pane

  • Located on the right-hand side of the report.
  • Displays all active filters for visuals, pages, or the report.
  • Filter types:
    • Visual-level: Affects only the selected visual.
    • Page-level: Applies to all visuals on the current page.
    • Report-level: Applies to all pages in the report.

Visual Interactions

  • Clicking one visual filters or highlights other visuals.
  • Ctrl + click allows multi-selection without resetting prior filters.
  • Cross-highlighting helps reveal relationships between categories.

4. Drill-Downs and Hierarchies

  • Many visuals support hierarchies (e.g., Year → Month → Day, Country → Region → City).
  • Drill Down:
    • Click the down arrow on a chart to see the next level.
    • Click drill up to return to a higher level.
    • Expand all levels shows the entire hierarchy at once.
  • Use hierarchies to explore trends and patterns in detail.

5. Working with Dates

  • Date fields can display day, month, quarter, or year.
  • Slicer modes:
    • List: Select individual dates.
    • Between: Select a date range.
    • Relative: Dynamic range (e.g., last 7 days, this month).
  • Many visuals allow date hierarchy drill-down for trend analysis.

6. Tooltips and Details

  • Hover over a data point to view a tooltip with additional information.
  • Custom tooltips may include:
    • Comparison to previous periods
    • KPIs, trends, or calculations
    • Contextual explanations
  • Use See Records to view underlying rows for deeper analysis.

7. Drill-Through Pages

  • Drill-through pages provide detailed insights for specific selections (e.g., Customer, Product, Vendor).
  • Right-click a data point → Drill through → [Page Name].
  • Drill-through pages automatically filter based on your selection.

8. Exporting Data and Visuals

  • Export Data:
    • Click the visual’s ellipsis (…) → Export data.
    • Export options: .xlsx (Excel) or .csv.
    • Only filtered data is exported.
  • Export Visuals:
    • Export as image or PDF via the ellipsis or report menu.
  • Printing:
    • File → Print or export as PDF for physical copies.

9. Bookmarks and Navigation Buttons

  • Bookmarks save the state of a report (filters, slicers, visual state).
  • Can be used to:
    • Reset filters
    • Navigate between sections
    • Show/hide specific visuals
  • Navigation buttons may be included to move between pages or report sections.

10. Troubleshooting

  • Missing or incorrect data: Check active filters and slicers.
  • Visuals not interacting: Ensure interactions are enabled; some may be locked.
  • Slow loading: Reduce slicer selections, use simpler visuals.
  • Browser issues: Refresh, clear cache, or try another browser.
  • Data discrepancies: Verify with dataset documentation.

11. Glossary of Common Terms

Term Definition
Slicer Visual filter displayed on the report canvas
Drill-down Navigate from summary level to detailed level in a hierarchy
Drill-through Navigate to a detailed page filtered for the selected value
Cross-filter / Cross-highlight Selecting a value in one visual automatically affects other visuals
Bookmark Saved state of the report including filters and visual configurations
Tooltip Popup providing details when hovering over a visual
KPI Key Performance Indicator, a measurable value tracking performance

12. Support & Feedback

  • Refer to dataset documentation for metric definitions.
  • Questions or requests? Submit a ticket via JIRA.