A Power BI report is a multi-perspective view into a dataset, with visuals, tools, and features to explore the data in detail. These reports are highly interactive and customizable. You can filter the data, drill down into details, and make other changes to see the data in the way you find most useful.
A Power BI dashboard, on the other hand, is a collection of visuals, reports, and other data that provides a consolidated view of business data. Dashboards are highly customizable and can show reports from different datasets and different types of visuals.
Consuming Power BI Reports
To consume a Power BI report, follow the steps below:
- Navigate to Power BI service in your web browser.
- In the left navigation pane, select a workspace.
- Click on the Reports icon in the workspace.
- Select a specific report to open it.
Once you’ve opened the report, you can interact with the data in many ways. You can select items on a chart to cross-filter other visuals on the page. You can hover over visuals to see detailed data.
Exporting Power BI reports is also an important feature for consumers to focus on. Power BI provides various options to export the reports:
- Export to PDF: This option lets users export the report as a PDF document.
- Export to PowerPoint: This option enables users to export the report as a PowerPoint presentation.
- Export to Excel: Using this, users can export data from visuals in a report to Excel.
Consuming Power BI Dashboards
Consuming dashboards is slightly different from reports. Here are the steps to consume a Power BI dashboard:
- Navigate to Power BI service in your web browser.
- In the left navigation pane, select a workspace.
- Click on the Dashboards icon in the workspace.
- Select a specific dashboard to open it.
Once opened, you can pin visuals, reports, and other dashboards, use Q&A to ask questions in natural language and get answers in the form of visuals, and set data alerts to be notified when the data changes beyond limits you set.
| Action | Reports | Dashboards |
|---|---|---|
| Can view underlying dataset | Yes | No |
| Can export to PDF, PPT, etc. | Yes | No |
| Can ask a question about the data (Q&A) | No | Yes |
| Can set data alerts | No | Yes |
| Can view related content | Yes | Yes |
It’s important to understand the differences between reporting and dashboarding capabilities in Power BI while considering which to use in your organization. Understanding how to consume these reports and dashboards effectively is integral to successfully utilizing Power BI and performing well on the PL-900 Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals exam.
Practice Test
True or False: Power BI reports and dashboards can only be viewed and consumed by administrators.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Power BI reports and dashboards can be viewed and consumed by any user who has been granted appropriate access permissions.
Which of the following input controls would NOT be available in a Power BI report?
- A. Filter controls
- B. Slicer controls
- C. Time controls
- D. Pie chart controls
Answer: D. Pie chart controls
Explanation: Pie chart controls are a form of data visualization, not an input control. Filter, slicer and time controls are all forms of input controls used in Power BI Reports.
Power BI Service is used to _______
- A. Create reports
- B. Share reports
- C. Consume reports
- D. More than one of the above
Answer: D. More than one of the above
Explanation: Power BI Service is a platform for creating, sharing, and consuming Power BI reports and dashboards.
True or False: Power BI dashboards can include data from multiple reports.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Power BI dashboards can consolidate information from multiple reports into a single view.
Consume Power BI reports and dashboards on which of the following device?
- A. PC
- B. Mobile Devices
- C. Both PC and Mobile Devices
- D. None of the above
Answer: C. Both PC and Mobile Devices
Explanation: Power BI reports and dashboards can be consumed on both PC and mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.
Metrics and KPIs on the Power BI Dashboard are real-time.
- A. True
- B. False
Answer: A. True
Explanation: Power BI dashboards come with real-time tiles that update the metrics and KPIs in real-time.
You cannot share your dashboard or report with a user who does not have a Power BI account.
- A. True
- B. False
Answer: A. True
Explanation: To share a dashboard or report, the receiver needs to have Power BI account to access the shared resources.
Power BI reports are static representations of data, and do not allow interactivity.
- A. True
- B. False
Answer: B. False
Explanation: Power BI reports are interactive and allow users to change views, apply filters, drill down, and more.
Power BI reports can only connect to cloud data sources.
- A. True
- B. False
Answer: B. False
Explanation: Power BI can connect to both cloud and on-premises data sources.
In Power BI, who can edit a Report?
- A. The report owner
- B. A user with a read only access
- C. A user with a peer access
- D. All of the Above
Answer: A. The report owner
Explanation: Only the owner of a report or a user who has been granted edit permissions can edit a Power BI report.
One must be a data scientist or a technical expert to use Power BI reports and dashboards.
- A. True
- B. False
Answer: B. False
Explanation: Power BI is designed in a way which makes data visualization and reporting accessible to all types of users, regardless of their technical expertise.
True or False: You can add comments to dashboards and specific visuals in Power BI.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Power BI allows users to add comments to dashboards and specific visuals to facilitate discussions or provide additional context.
Power BI dashboards can only show data from one report.
- A. True
- B. False
Answer: B. False
Explanation: Power BI dashboards can consolidate data from multiple reports into a single dashboard for a comprehensive view of the data.
The color theme of a Power BI dashboard can be customized.
- A. True
- B. False
Answer: A. True
Explanation: Power BI allows customization of its dashboards including the color theme, to match business branding or user preferences.
In Power BI, you can pin live report pages to your dashboard.
- A. True
- B. False
Answer: A. True
Explanation: Power BI allows users to pin live report pages to their dashboards. This means the dashboard will automatically update when the underlying report data changes.
Interview Questions
What is Power BI within Microsoft Power Platform?
Power BI is a business analytics tool that allows you to visually analyze data and share the insights across the organization or embed them in an app or website.
How does Power BI enable users to consume reports and dashboards?
Power BI enables users to consume reports and dashboards by providing interactive visualizations with self-service business intelligence capabilities, where end users can create reports and dashboards by themselves, without having to depend on any information from a database or IT.
What are the three basic elements in Power BI needed to build a report?
The three basic elements in Power BI needed to build a report are; one or more data sources, a dataset that is a collection of data, and a report that is a collection of visuals, charts, or other data representations.
What does a Power BI Dashboard consist of?
A Power BI Dashboard is a collection of visuals, reports, and other data that provides a consolidated view of business data.
How can you share a Power BI Report with others within your organization?
You can share a Power BI report by either by publishing the report to the Power BI service, where you can share it with others in your organization, or by exporting the report to a PDF or PowerPoint file.
How is real-time data streaming supported in Power BI?
Real-time data streaming in Power BI is supported through dashboard tiles that are updated as the data changes.
Can you connect to data sources outside of your organization using Power BI?
Yes, Power BI allows users to connect to data sources both within their organization and external to their organization.
Are Power BI reports and dashboards mobile compatible?
Yes, Power BI reports and dashboards can be viewed and interacted with on mobile devices using the Power BI Mobile app.
How can you update data in Power BI?
Data in Power BI can be updated by refreshing the dataset that the report or dashboard is based on.
Can you export data from a Power BI report?
Yes, data from a Power BI report can be exported to Excel for further analysis or sharing.
Can you customize the look and feel of a Power BI report?
Yes, Power BI provides several customization options such as changing the layout, adding filters, and choosing different visualizations.
How does Power Bi ensure data security while sharing reports and dashboards?
Power Bi ensures data security by providing options to restrict data access at various levels. Users can define data access at the dataset level and apply row-level security.
Can Power BI integrate with other Microsoft services?
Yes, Power BI can integrate with a variety of other Microsoft services such as Excel, SharePoint, Teams, and more.
What are pinned tiles in Power BI Dashboards?
Pinned tiles in Power BI Dashboards are single visuals, reports, or other data that you can pin from many different report views. Once pinned, these tiles are immediately available in a dashboard.
Can you create a Power BI report without writing any code?
Yes, Power BI is a user-friendly tool that allows users to create compelling reports and dashboards without writing any code. It supports a drag-and-drop interface for ease of use.
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