How to Create a Refresh Button in Power BI

A Power BI report that only shows last week's data is about as useful as a weather forecast from yesterday. To get real value, you and your team need to see what’s happening now. This tutorial walks you through exactly how to add a refresh button to your Power BI reports, empowering anyone who views them to get the latest data on demand.

First, Let's Clarify: Page Refresh vs. Dataset Refresh

Before an on-screen button can do its job, it's important to understand the two main types of "refreshing" that happen in Power BI. They do very different things, and choosing the right one is the key to building a button that works as you expect.

• Page Refresh: This is a lightweight refresh. It simply re-renders the visuals on the current report page. It’s ideal for data sources using DirectQuery or a Live Connection (like connecting directly to a SQL server or an Analysis Services model). In these modes, Power BI doesn't store a copy of the data, it queries the source live. A page refresh tells Power BI to re-run those queries and update the charts, which is usually very fast.
• Dataset Refresh: This is the heavy lifter. It’s used for data in Import mode, where Power BI has taken a full copy of your data from sources like Excel files, SharePoint lists, or web APIs, and stored it within the PBIX file. A dataset refresh tells Power BI to go all the way back to those original sources, pull in any new or changed data, and reload its internal copy. This process takes longer but ensures your report has the absolute latest information from sources that aren't live.

In short: a page refresh updates the report's visuals based on data Power BI already has access to, while a dataset refresh updates the underlying data itself. We'll cover how to create a button for both scenarios.

The Easiest Win: Creating a Simple Page Refresh Button

If your report uses DirectQuery or a Live Connection, adding a refresh button is incredibly simple and built right into Power BI. This gives users a clear, explicit way to poll for the latest data without having to refresh their entire browser window.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Insert a Button: Navigate to the Insert tab on the Power BI Desktop ribbon. In the Elements section, click on Buttons and select a shape. A Blank button offers the most flexibility for customization.
2. Position and Style Your Button: Drag the button to a logical spot on your report canvas, like the top right corner. With the button selected, use the Format pane to customize its appearance.
3. Assign the Action: This is where the magic happens. With your button still selected, go to the Format pane and expand the Action section.

That's it! Once you publish your report, users can click this button to trigger an instant refresh of the page's visuals. In Power BI Desktop, you'll need to hold down Ctrl + Click to test the button's functionality.

The Ultimate Solution: A True Dataset Refresh Button with Power Automate

For reports using Import mode, a simple page refresh won't cut it. You need a way to tell the entire dataset to update itself from the source files. This used to be difficult, but thanks to the Power Automate integration, you can now build a button that gives users the power to trigger a full dataset refresh directly from the report itself.

This is extremely powerful for situations where the underlying data changes frequently, but not frequently enough for a high-cost premium capacity license. You're essentially giving end-users self-service control over data freshness.

Step 1: Get the Power Automate Visual

First, you need to add the Power Automate visual to your report. It doesn't come on the standard visualization list by default, but it's free and easy to add.

1. On the Visualizations pane in Power BI Desktop, click the three dots (...) to get more options.
2. Select Get more visuals. This will open the AppSource marketplace.
3. In the search bar, type "Power Automate" and press Enter.
4. Find the visual by Microsoft Corporation and click Add. The visual will now appear in your visualizations pane.

Step 2: Add and Configure the Visual

Now you can add the visual to your report and build the automation flow that will do the heavy lifting.

1. Click the Power Automate icon in your visualizations pane to add it to your report canvas.
2. Resize and position it where you want your "Refresh Dataset" button to be.
3. With the visual selected, you'll need to add at least one data field to the Power Automate data field well. This step is just to activate the visual, you can drag any field from your data pane here.
4. Once a data field is added, click the three dots (...) on the visual itself and choose Edit. This will open the Power Automate interface directly inside of Power BI.

Step 3: Build the "Refresh a Dataset" Flow

Here you'll create the simple, two-step automation that triggers the refresh.

1. Inside the Power Automate window, click + New, and then select Instant cloud flow. This creates a flow that is triggered by a manual action - in our case, clicking the button.
2. The first step, the trigger, is already set for you: Power BI button clicked. No changes are needed here.
3. Click + New step. A search box will appear.
4. In the search box, type in "Power BI" and select the Power BI connector from the list.
5. Now, look through the list of available Actions and select Refresh a dataset. You may be required to sign in to your Microsoft account to authenticate the connection.
6. Now you need to tell Power Automate which dataset to refresh.
7. At the top of the flow editor, click Save and Apply. A green success message will appear. You can then click the back arrow to return to your Power BI report.

Step 4: Style and Test Your Button

The Power Automate visual on your report will have transformed from a setup guide into a runnable button.

1. Just like a standard button, you can select the visual and use the Format pane to change the button text (e.g., from "Run flow" to "Refresh Dataset Now") and other styling options.
2. To test it in Desktop, hold Ctrl + Click. This runs the flow, which sends the command to the Power BI Service to start refreshing the specified dataset.
3. Important Note: Because dataset refreshes can take time, the effect isn't instant. After clicking the button, you might need to wait a few minutes (depending on your data size) and then click a page-refresh button (or refresh your browser if in the service) to see the newly imported data.

Final Thoughts

Incorporating a refresh button - whether for a simple page update or a full dataset import - elevates your report from a static document into an interactive, trustworthy tool. It gives users immediate control over their data, boosts their confidence in the numbers, and reduces questions about whether they're seeing the latest information.

Of course, building all these reports, connections, and flows takes time away from acting on insights. Instead of spending hours in complex BI tools, we created Graphed to do the heavy lifting for you. Simply connect your marketing and sales platforms, and our AI analyst builds real-time dashboards automatically. No complex configurations are necessary - just describe what you want to see, and you get live, up-to-the-minute dashboards instantly.