Creating Interactive Dashboards with Power BI

Power BI offers robust features to transform static reports into dynamic, interactive dashboards that empower users to explore data and uncover insights.

What are Interactive Dashboards?

Interactive dashboards are more than just collections of charts. They allow users to:

  • Filter data across multiple visuals simultaneously.
  • Drill down into specific data points.
  • Hover over elements to see detailed tooltips.
  • Cross-filter other visuals by selecting data in one.
  • Utilize bookmarks to save specific views or states of the dashboard.
Example of a Power BI Interactive Dashboard

Key Features for Interactivity

Cross-Filtering and Cross-Highlighting

By default, when you select a data point in one visual, Power BI automatically filters or highlights related data in other visuals on the same page. This is the foundation of interactivity.

You can customize this behavior:

  • Edit Interactions: In the Power BI Desktop ribbon, navigate to the Format tab, then click Edit Interactions. This allows you to specify whether a visual should filter, highlight, or do nothing to other visuals when selected.

Slicers

Slicers are powerful visual filters that users can directly interact with. They can be used for dates, categories, numbers, and more.

Tip: Use slicers for commonly used filters to provide quick and easy data exploration. For date slicers, consider using the relative date filter for added flexibility.

To add a slicer:

  1. Select the Slicer visual from the Visualizations pane.
  2. Drag the field you want to filter by into the Field well.
  3. Format the slicer (e.g., list, dropdown, between) using the Format your visual pane.

Drillthrough

Drillthrough enables users to navigate from a summary visual to a more detailed page that is filtered for the context of the selected data point.

To set up drillthrough:

  1. Create a detail page that contains the specific information you want to show.
  2. On the detail page, add the field you want to drillthrough by to the Drillthrough filters well in the Visualizations pane. Power BI automatically adds a "Back" button.
  3. Now, when a user right-clicks on a data point in a visual on another page that uses the same field, they will see the option to drillthrough to your detail page.

Bookmarks

Bookmarks allow you to capture the current state of a report page, including applied filters, slicers, and visibility of objects. They are excellent for creating guided analysis paths or showcasing specific insights.

To use bookmarks:

  1. Go to the View tab and enable the Bookmarks pane.
  2. Configure your report page to the desired state (e.g., apply filters, select data).
  3. Click Add in the Bookmarks pane.
  4. Rename the bookmark for clarity (e.g., "Q3 Sales Performance").
  5. You can assign bookmarks to buttons or shapes to allow users to navigate to these predefined views.

Best Practices for Interactive Dashboards

  • Keep it Focused: Don't overload a single dashboard with too many visuals or too much information.
  • User-Centric Design: Think about who will be using the dashboard and what questions they need to answer.
  • Clear Navigation: Ensure users can easily understand how to interact with filters, slicers, and drillthrough actions.
  • Performance: Optimize your data model and visuals for fast loading and interaction times.
  • Consistent Design: Use consistent colors, fonts, and formatting across all visuals.
Pro Tip: Leverage tooltips! Customize the default tooltips to show more relevant information when users hover over data points. You can even create full report page tooltips for richer context.

By mastering these features, you can create Power BI dashboards that are not just informative, but truly engaging and insightful for your audience.