Lesson 29 Power BI Paginated Reports-: Create Pixel-Perfect Reports Like a Pro 🖨️

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Today, we’re diving into Power BI Paginated Reports, a feature designed for precise, print-ready reports that look perfect in PDF, Excel, and hard copies.

📌 Why Learn Paginated Reports?

• ✅ Perfect for invoices, financial statements, and operational reports.
• ✅ Handles large datasets better than Power BI dashboards.
• ✅ Allows exact positioning of tables, text, and images.
• ✅ Supports multi-page layouts with headers and footers.

By the end of this blog, you’ll know how to create and publish a paginated report step by step!

1️⃣ What Are Power BI Paginated Reports?

Paginated Reports are pixel-perfect reports built using Power BI Report Builder, designed for:

• 🔹 Printing or exporting to PDF, Word, or Excel
• 🔹 Handling large datasets efficiently
• 🔹 Row-level security (RLS) and advanced formatting options

Unlike standard Power BI reports, which are interactive, paginated reports are static and structured like traditional reports used in corporate environments.

🔹 Use Cases for Paginated Reports:

• ✔️ Invoices & Bills – Structured financial documents
• ✔️ Monthly Sales Reports – PDF reports sent to stakeholders
• ✔️ Financial Statements – Balance sheets and profit-loss reports
• ✔️ Government & Compliance Reports – Fixed layouts with precise formatting

Now, let’s create one! 🚀

2️⃣ How to Install Power BI Report Builder

To create a paginated report, you need Power BI Report Builder (a free tool).

🔹 Steps to Download:

• 1️⃣ Go to Power BI Report Builder.
• 2️⃣ Click Download and install the software.
• 3️⃣ Open Power BI Report Builder and start a new report.

3️⃣ Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Paginated Report

🔹 Step 1: Connect to a Data Source

• 1️⃣ Open Power BI Report Builder.
• 2️⃣ Click New Report → Blank Report.
• 3️⃣ Go to Data → Data Sources and click Add Data Source.
• 4️⃣ Select Power BI Dataset (if using Power BI Service) or SQL Server.
• 5️⃣ Enter your credentials and click OK.

🔹 Step 2: Create a Data Set

A dataset pulls data from the data source to your report.

• 1️⃣ Click New → Dataset.
• 2️⃣ Choose the data source you just created.
• 3️⃣ Write an SQL Query or use Power BI tables.
• 4️⃣ Click OK to save.

📌 Example SQL Query:

SQL

SELECT OrderID, CustomerName, OrderDate, SalesAmount 

FROM SalesData

WHERE OrderDate >= '2024-01-01'

🔹 Step 3: Add a Table to the Report

Now, let’s display the data in a tabular format.

• 1️⃣ Go to Insert → Table and click inside the report.
• 2️⃣ Drag fields from the dataset into the table columns.
• 3️⃣ Resize and format the table for a professional look.
• 4️⃣ Add grouping if needed (e.g., group sales by region).

📌 Pro Tip:

Use conditional formatting to highlight sales above a threshold!

🔹 Step 4: Add Headers, Footers & Formatting

• 1️⃣ Click Insert → Header & Footer to add a title and company logo.
• 2️⃣ Format text using bold, colors, and borders.
• 3️⃣ Add page numbers using the =Globals!PageNumber expression.

📌 Why Add Headers & Footers?

• Standardizes company branding across all reports.
• Ensures each printed page contains essential information.

🔹 Step 5: Add a Parameter for Dynamic Filtering

To let users filter reports dynamically, add parameters.

• 1️⃣ Go to Report Parameters → Click Add Parameter.
• 2️⃣ Name it "Region" and set type as Text.
• 3️⃣ Modify the SQL Query to include the parameter:

SQL

SELECT OrderID, CustomerName, OrderDate, SalesAmount 

FROM SalesData

WHERE Region = @Region

📌 Why Use Parameters?

• Users can select a region, date range, or product category before generating the report.

4️⃣ Preview and Publish the Report

🔹 Step 1: Preview the Report

• 1️⃣ Click Run to preview the report.
• 2️⃣ Adjust formatting if needed.

🔹 Step 2: Export to PDF or Excel

• 1️⃣ Click File → Export and choose PDF, Excel, or Word.
• 2️⃣ Check that the formatting is perfect for printing.

🔹 Step 3: Publish to Power BI Service

• 1️⃣ Click File → Save As → Power BI Service.
• 2️⃣ Select your Power BI workspace.
• 3️⃣ Once uploaded, go to Power BI Service → Paginated Reports to view.

5️⃣ Key Benefits of Power BI Paginated Reports

• ✅ Print-Ready & Pixel-Perfect – Great for official documents
• ✅ Handles Large Data Efficiently – No performance issues
• ✅ Flexible Export Options – Supports PDF, Excel, Word, CSV
• ✅ Advanced Formatting – Headers, footers, images, and page numbers
• ✅ User Input Filters (Parameters) – Customize reports dynamically

6️⃣ When to Use Power BI Paginated Reports vs. Power BI Dashboards?

If you need interactive dashboards, use Power BI Reports. If you need printable, structured reports, use Paginated Reports!

7️⃣ What’s Next?

Now that you know how to create Paginated Reports, let’s explore Power BI Dataflows in our next blog!

📌 In the next blog, you’ll learn:

• ✅ What are Power BI Dataflows?
• ✅ How to create and automate Dataflows
• ✅ When to use Dataflows vs. Power Query

Stay tuned to Virvijay.com for more Power BI insights! 🚀

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