Integrate Power BI into PowerPoint in 3 steps

Microsoft regularly adds new features to Power BI. A recent addition is the integration of Power BI with PowerPoint, which makes it possible to embed live Power BI dashboards in a PowerPoint presentation. In this blog, BI consultant Martin Memelink explains how it works and discusses a few pitfalls to watch out for.

Live dashboard

The goal of data-driven working is to make decisions backed by information. This requires being able to share that knowledge and information. One way to share it is through a PowerPoint presentation. Until recently it was not possible to embed a Power BI dashboard in your presentation. You could insert a screenshot, but then you were always presenting outdated data. You also could not interact with the dashboard without switching windows. Since May 2022, that is a thing of the past! There is now a full integration between PowerPoint and Power BI that lets you insert fully interactive, live dashboards into your PowerPoint. But how do you do it? I explain below.

Step 1 – Add-in

In PowerPoint you can now very easily add a Power BI dashboard or visual to a slide.

• Go to insert in the toolbar and click the Power BI button.
  Can't see this button? Then you first need to install the Power BI add-in, after which you can find it under 'my add-ins'.
• After inserting the Power BI object you will be asked for a URL.

Step 2 – Get the URL

The URL can be that of a Power BI report located in a workspace on Power BI service or of a published app. You can generate the URL in three ways:

1. Via the share function
2. Via the export function
3. Or by copying the URL from the address bar

Depending on which method you choose, the current state of the report is either preserved or not. If you use share or export, the report is displayed in PowerPoint in the same state it was in when the URL was generated. This does not happen if you copy the URL from the address bar; the dashboard is then displayed in its original state.

If you get the URL via the share button, you also get the extra option of giving specific people access. Whoever opens the report from PowerPoint of course needs the right permissions in Power BI service. After all, a dashboard can only be shared if both you and the recipient have a Pro or Premium license, or if the content is in a Premium Capacity.

Step 3 – Layout

When you paste the URL into PowerPoint, the dashboard automatically appears in your presentation. You have full interactivity with slicers, bookmarks, tooltips and even drill down. It is also possible to display just one of the visuals instead of the entire dashboard. Here is how:

• Select the visual and click the focus mode icon in the top right corner
• The visual now fills the entire PowerPoint object

If you want to select a different page from the same report, you cannot do that via PowerPoint; for that you need to enter a different URL.

Pitfalls

Live integration of a dashboard is of course a great way to present figures and performance, but there are also pitfalls. Your presentation only works if you are connected to the internet and have access to Power BI service, for example.

It is also good to be aware that dashboards always show current information. The dashboard may be updated between the moment you insert it and the moment you present. The actual figures can, as it were, overtake you, making your presentation outdated. For example: if you create a PowerPoint and insert a dashboard that shows at that moment that revenue has stayed the same, but revenue rises or falls before you give the presentation, your conclusion no longer matches what the live dashboard shows. So it is wise to always check the information once more before you present.

Want to know more?

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