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What is a Paginated Report in Power BI?

Cody Schneider•

When you hear "Power BI report," you probably picture an interactive dashboard filled with clickable charts and filters that let you slice and dice data on the fly. But Power BI has another, less flashy but equally powerful reporting tool designed for a completely different purpose. This article explains what a paginated report is, how it differs from a standard Power BI report, and when you should use one.

What Exactly is a Paginated Report?

A paginated report is a document designed to be printed or shared in a fixed format, like a PDF or Word file. Think of a perfectly formatted, multi-page invoice, a detailed financial statement, or an operational report that needs to look exactly the same every single time it's generated. The term "paginated" means it's organized into pages, ensuring that everything fits perfectly within the page margins when printed.

Unlike interactive dashboards that are meant for exploration, paginated reports are optimized for exporting and printing. They're built to be pixel-perfect, meaning you have complete control over the layout, and every element stays exactly where you put it. This technology was originally part of SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) and has since been integrated into the Power BI ecosystem for users who need structured, operational documents.

Imagine you're creating a daily sales report to be emailed to stakeholders every morning. You don't want them to have to click and filter, you just want to present a clear, concise, and professional-looking summary in a PDF. That's the perfect job for a paginated report.

Paginated Reports vs. Standard Power BI Reports: What's the Difference?

The core difference comes down to one thing: intent. A standard Power BI report is for analysis and exploration, while a paginated report is for operational documentation and distribution.

Think of it this way: a standard Power BI report is like Google Maps. You can zoom in, click on different locations, apply filters (like "restaurants" or "gas stations"), and explore the data freely. A paginated report is like a high-quality, printed road atlas. It has a fixed layout, is organized page by page, and is designed for reference rather than interaction.

Here’s a simple breakdown of the key distinctions:

  • Layout:

    • Standard Report: Uses a "free-form" canvas. Visuals resize dynamically based on screen size and filters. It's built for on-screen interaction.

    • Paginated Report: Uses a "fixed" page layout. You define the exact size (like A4 or Letter) and placement of every element to control how it looks when printed or exported.

  • Data Display:

    • Standard Report: Excellent for summarizing data with interactive charts, graphs, and cards. It's focused on showing the big picture and allowing users to drill down.

    • Paginated Report: Ideal for displaying long, detailed tables and matrices that span many pages, like inventory lists or financial ledgers. It excels at showing row-level detail.

  • Primary Use Case:

    • Standard Report: Self-service analytics and data exploration. Users discover insights by interacting with the report.

    • Paginated Report: Creating static, operational documents like invoices, transcripts, certificates, and compliance reports.

  • Creation Tool:

    • Standard Report: Created in Power BI Desktop.

    • Paginated Report: Created using a separate, free application called Power BI Report Builder.

When Should You Use a Paginated Report?

You may not need a paginated report every day, but for certain tasks, it's the only tool for the job. Here are the most common scenarios where a paginated report is the best choice.

For Pixel-Perfect Printing and Exporting

This is the number one reason to use a paginated report. Anytime a document's layout and formatting must be precise, a paginated report is your go-to.

Examples:

  • Invoices: Your company logo must be in the top left, the customer address must align perfectly, and the line items need to be neatly tabulated.

  • Financial Statements: Reports like income statements or balance sheets have legally mandated formats that cannot change.

  • Certificates or Official Transcripts: These documents require exact formatting that looks professional when printed.

For Detailed, Tabular Data

Standard Power BI reports start to struggle when you need to display thousands or even millions of rows in a simple table. Paginated reports are designed to handle this. They can efficiently generate a table that spans hundreds of pages without crashing your browser.

Examples:

  • Inventory Lists: A list of every product in your warehouse with its SKU, quantity, and location.

  • Sales Transaction Logs: A complete, unsummarized log of every sale made in a given period.

  • Audit Trails: Detailed logs of user activity that need to be presented in a clean, tabular format.

For Standardized Operational Reporting

Many businesses rely on standardized reports that are sent out on a regular schedule (daily, weekly, or monthly). These reports need a consistent format that everyone understands at a glance.

Examples:

  • Daily Sales Summaries: A PDF emailed to the leadership team every morning at 8 AM.

  • Weekly Project Status Reports: A standardized document sent to clients showing progress and hours billed.

  • Monthly Performance Reviews: Formal reports outlining an employee's key performance indicators (KPIs).

For Compliance and Archiving

When you need to create official documents for regulatory bodies or internal archiving, a static, unchangeable format like a PDF is essential. Paginated reports provide a reliable way to generate these documents directly from your central data source.

How to Create a Paginated Report in Power BI

Creating a paginated report involves a different workflow and tool than you might be used to with Power BI Desktop. You’ll need to download and install Power BI Report Builder first. While a deep dive is a topic for another day, here’s a high-level overview of the process:

  1. Install Power BI Report Builder: This is a free, standalone application available from the Microsoft Download Center. It’s a classic, no-frills interface reminiscent of older Microsoft products, but it's incredibly powerful.

  2. Connect to a Data Source: Once in Report Builder, your first step is to tell it where to get the data. You can connect to a variety of sources, but one of the most common methods is connecting directly to a Power BI semantic model (formerly called a dataset) you've already published.

  3. Create a Dataset: After connecting to your data source, you create a dataset by writing a query. If you're connecting to a Power BI semantic model, this involves writing a DAX query. If you’re connecting to a SQL database, you’d write a SQL query.

  4. Design the Report Layout: This is where the magic happens. On the report canvas, you can add elements like tables (tablix), matrices, charts, text boxes, and images. You drag and drop data fields from your dataset into these elements and then meticulously arrange and format everything.

  5. Add Parameters (Optional but Recommended): Parameters allow for a bit of interactivity. For example, you can add a date picker so users can select a specific time frame for the report before running it.

  6. Publish to the Power BI Service: Once your report is designed, you save it and publish it to a workspace in the Power BI Service. From there, users can run the report, export it to different formats (PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, CSV, etc.), and set up subscriptions to have it delivered to their inbox on a schedule.

The Pros and Cons of Paginated Reports

Like any tool, paginated reports have their strengths and weaknesses. Knowing them helps you decide when to use one.

Advantages

  • Total Layout Control: You get pixel-perfect precision over how your report looks when printed or exported.

  • Handles Large Data Volumes: They are built to render massive tables of data that would be impractical in a standard Power BI report.

  • Multiple Export Formats: Offers a wide range of export options, including PDF, DOCX, XLSX, and CSV, with high fidelity.

  • Scheduled Subscriptions: It's easy to automate the distribution of reports via email subscriptions in the Power BI Service.

Disadvantages

  • Not Truly Interactive: Although you can add parameters, they are not a tool for dynamic data exploration. Users can't cross-filter charts or drill through visuals.

  • Steeper Learning Curve: Power BI Report Builder is less intuitive than Power BI Desktop. Building a well-formatted report requires patience and a good understanding of its structure.

  • Separate Creation Tool: You have to switch between Power BI Desktop and Power BI Report Builder, making the development process feel a bit disconnected.

Final Thoughts

Paginated reports fill a specific, critical need within the Power BI ecosystem. They are the ideal solution for any scenario that demands a fixed, printable, and perfectly formatted document, handling the structured, operational reporting that interactive dashboards aren't built for. Use them when the final output is a document, and stick to standard reports when the goal is exploration and insight generation.

While Power BI is a fantastic tool for deep analysis, creating custom reports often requires specialized skills and a significant time investment. That's precisely why we built Graphed. We wanted to make powerful data analysis accessible to everyone, not just those with the time to master complex BI tools. Instead of wrestling with report builders, you can connect your data sources and create real-time dashboards and reports just by describing what you need in plain English - turning hours of work into a 30-second conversation.