How to create an External Report from Power BI

This article details how to build an External Report in Metric Insights that is linked to a Report on your Microsoft Power BI server.

It assumes that you have already established connectivity to Power BI via the respective plugin connection profile. 

[6.1.1 new feature] If your External Report Viewer is displaying duplicate Filters based on your BI Tool defaults, your Admin can reset the default behavior to remove the Metric Insights filters from Viewer display  - How to omit Filters from External Reports.

1. Access New > External Report > Microsoft Power BI

If necessary, you can create a new Report Type, Category, or Report Image Trigger on the go by clicking the [+] icon next to the corresponding field.

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The New External Report screen opens. Provide the following information:

  1. Give your new External Report a Name
  2. Place your Report in a relevant Category
  3. Define whether you want Report content to be updated manually or automatically. For Automated Collection, define the following settings:
    • Choose the Report Image Trigger from the drop-down list
    • Select the Plugin Connection Profile you have created for Power BI
    • Report: Select the Power BI Report from which the image will be collected
  4. Next: define details to proceed with Report creation

2. External Report Configuration

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  1. Show Report in: change from default "External Webpage" if you want your Report to be displayed in Viewer
    • You can choose between the iframe and static image options
    • If you select iframe, you can specify the Viewer Image Size
  2. Apply filters to your Report data by clicking [+Manage Filters]
  3. The External Report URL will be generated automatically based on your other inputs
    • You can modify the URL by appending a question mark (?) followed by any filter or parameter settings
  4. Test External Report: you can optionally test how your Report will be displayed on External Webpage or in Viewer, depending on the display option selected in #1
  5. Advanced:
    • Always collect all instances of external report: Collect all images and cache them on a schedule
    • On Demand: only when needed for distribution: Individual images are only collected when they need to be included in an email
  6. Save and Collect Image to generate a Preview Image for the Homepage
    • NOTE: when opting to display your Report as a Static Image, make sure you Collect Image before going to Viewer
  7. Optionally, Set up image size
    • If not specified, it will default to 1200 x 800
  8. Enable and Publish to be able to go to Viewer

3. Verify display in Viewer

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To pre-filter Report Data in the Viewer:

  1. Select the required Filter Value
  2. Click [Apply Filters]
  3. Optionally, save your Filter selections as personalized Bookmarks