How to Create a Power BI Dashboard from a Power BI Report

Creating a detailed report in Power BI is a great first step, but a multi-page report isn't always the best tool for daily monitoring. That's where dashboards come in. This guide will show you exactly how to convert your Power BI reports into clean, high-level dashboards for at-a-glance insights into your most important metrics.

Power BI Reports vs. Dashboards: What’s the Difference?

Before diving into the "how," it’s important to understand the fundamental differences between Power BI reports and dashboards. People often use these terms interchangeably, but they serve very distinct purposes.

Power BI Reports: The Deep Dive

Think of a Power BI report as a detailed deep-dive analysis. It's where you go to explore data, ask questions, and really dig into the specifics. They are highly interactive and designed for thorough investigation.

• Multi-Page Structure: Reports can have many pages, each dedicated to a specific subject, like "Sales Performance," "Marketing Funnel," or "Website Traffic."
• Interactive Exploration: Reports are built for interaction. Users can use a variety of tools like slicers, filters, cross-filtering, and drill-throughs to slice and dice the data in countless ways.
• Single Dataset Focus: A single report is typically connected to a single underlying dataset, although there are ways to combine data.
• Creation in Desktop: Reports are authored and designed in Power BI Desktop, the free desktop application.

In short, a report is where you go to find answers.

Power BI Dashboards: The Helicopter View

A Power BI dashboard, on the other hand, is a single-page canvas designed for monitoring - not deep exploration. It's the mission control center for your business, showing just the most critical, high-level metrics you need to track.

• Single-Page Canvas: Dashboards are always a single page. This forces you to be selective about what you display, focusing on only the most critical Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Monitoring, Not Exploring: The primary goal is to provide a quick, at-a-glance overview of business health. Interactivity is limited to clicking on a tile, which then takes you to the underlying report.
• Pulls from Different Sources: A key feature of dashboards is that they can display visuals (called "tiles") pinned from reports and datasets from the same workspace, uniting data from multiple sources in one centralized view.
• A Power BI Service Feature: Dashboards can only be created and viewed in the Power BI Service (your online Power BI hub).

To use an analogy, a report is like a full diagnostic from your car’s mechanic, showing you every detail of its performance. A dashboard is the dashboard of your car itself, showing just the critical information you need while driving: speed, fuel level, and engine temperature.

Why Turn a Report into a Dashboard?

Creating a dashboard from your reports provides a range of benefits that make your data more accessible and useful, especially for a broader audience.

• Centralized KPI Tracking: The biggest advantage is creating a single source of truth. You can pull the most important chart from your marketing report, a key goal tracker from another sales report, and an up-to-date stat from your Financial KPI report, bringing them all onto a single screen. No more jumping between reports just to check on your top-level metrics.
• At-a-Glance Insights for Executives: Senior leaders and stakeholders don't have time to wade through several report pages to get the information they need. A dashboard distills complex data into a concise story that can be digested in under a minute, making it an ideal format for busy executives.
• Data-Driven Alerts: You can set up data alerts on specific dashboard tiles (gauges, KPIs, and cards). Power BI will notify you via email when a metric crosses a threshold you’ve set (e.g., “Alert me when revenue exceeds $500,000”). This functionality isn't available in reports.
• Simplified Sharing: Dashboards provide a user-friendly and less intimidating entry point into your business data. They are perfect for sharing across departments with stakeholders who need to know the high-level numbers but don’t require deep analysis.

Step-by-Step: Creating a Dashboard from a Report

The process of building a Power BI dashboard involves "pinning" visuals from one or more reports. This is done entirely within the Power BI Service (the online version), not in Power BI Desktop.

Step 1: Publish Your Report to Power BI Service

First, ensure the report you want to use is published. If you've been working in Power BI Desktop, go to the Home tab and click Publish. Choose a workspace and finalize the process. If your report is already in the Service, you can proceed to the next step.

Step 2: Open Your Report in the Service

Navigate to the Power BI Service and open the report containing the first visual you want to display on your dashboard. Once you log in, you should see the report listed in your workspace's content.

Step 3: Hover and Pin Your First Visual

Move your mouse over the visual you want to add to your dashboard (e.g., a line chart showing sales over time). A group of icons appears on the upper right-hand corner of the visual. Look for the "pin" icon, which resembles a push-pin, and click it.

Step 4: Choose a Destination for Your Tile

Once you click, the "Pin to dashboard" dialog box pops up. You will have the option to pin your visual:

• New Dashboard: Select this if you’re creating a dashboard for the first time. Enter a descriptive name for your dashboard and click Pin.
• Existing Dashboard: If you already have a dashboard you want to add this visual to, select it from the dropdown menu and click Pin.

Step 5: Go to the Dashboard

Power BI will add the visual as a "tile" to the dashboard. A pop-up message will appear on the upper right-hand side of the screen, confirming the visual has been pinned. You can click "Go to dashboard" to see it immediately, or continue pinning more visuals.

• Repeat the Steps for Other Visuals: Navigate to other visuals in your report that you want on your dashboard and repeat the pinning process. You can pin visuals from multiple reports to one dashboard as long as they are within the same workspace.

Best Practices for Effective Power BI Dashboards

A great dashboard is more than just a collection of charts. It's a curated display that tells a clear story. Here are some tips to make your dashboards effective and captivating:

• Focus on the Essentials: A dashboard should not be an overflow of your detailed report. Be ruthlessly selective. Ask yourself, "What are the five to ten questions every member in this meeting needs answered immediately?" Focus on metrics that align with strategic goals and track KPIs that are important for decision-making.
• Organize Tiles Logically: The top-left corner is the most prominent position on your dashboard. Organize your tiles to tell the story naturally, grouping related tiles together and adjusting size and scope as needed.
• Keep It Simple: Avoid clutter. A dashboard isn't helpful if it's overwhelming. Use clean layouts and selective visuals that add value. A minimalist aesthetic ensures that the data's message is clear and impactful.

Final Thoughts

Converting your Power BI reports into dashboards is an effective way to create a centralized view for monitoring your business objectives. When executed well, dashboards can quickly and easily inform strategic decisions.

While Power BI is a powerful tool, success comes with a learning curve. Use reliable tools to manage data complexity. Consider using Graphed to schedule and share insights efficiently. This allows you to keep your stakeholders informed, ensuring your strategic goals are met.