Mastering Paginated Reports in Power BI: Everything You Need to Know
June 19 2025
Introduction
Power BI is widely recognized for its powerful interactive dashboards and visual reports, but when it comes to producing highly structured, print-ready documents, paginated reports take center stage. Designed for scenarios where layout precision matters, like invoices, financial statements, or detailed operational reports, paginated reports offer control over how content appears across multiple pages.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through what paginated reports are, their key features, how to create them using Power BI Report Builder, and best practices for publishing and sharing professional, pixel-perfect reports.
What are Paginated Reports?
Paginated reports are a type of report that is optimized for printing or PDF generation. Unlike the standard Power BI reports that focus on interactive visualizations and dashboards, paginated reports are designed to fit a well-structured format with content that can span multiple pages. They are ideal for generating pixel-perfect reports, where each page is neatly laid out and consistent.
These reports are typically used for:
- Financial reports: Income statements, balance sheets, etc.
- Invoices: Custom-designed invoices that include a large amount of data.
- Operational reports: Detailed lists that span multiple pages (e.g., inventory lists, transaction details).
- Document generation: Generating documents that need to meet specific layout requirements.
Key Features of Paginated Reports
1. Fixed Layout
Paginated reports have a fixed layout, meaning the report elements (text, images, tables, etc.) are placed in a precise manner. Each page of the report will look consistent, regardless of the amount of data included. This is especially important for scenarios like printing or exporting to PDF.
2. Multi-Page Reports
Paginated reports can extend over multiple pages. You can control where pages break, ensuring that data is presented in a clean, readable format.
3. Advanced Formatting
These reports provide robust formatting options for tables, text, and images. You can customize the design to create professional-looking reports. Additionally, it allows you to control font sizes, colors, borders, and more.
4. Parameterization
Paginated reports support parameters that enable users to filter data dynamically before the report is rendered. This feature allows users to input parameters like dates, customer IDs, or product categories, providing flexibility and interactivity to the report.
5. Drill through and Drilldown
While paginated reports are more static than regular Power BI reports, you can still use drill through, or drilldown features to explore detailed data within the report.
6. Export Options
Paginated reports can be exported to different formats such as PDF, Excel, Word, and CSV, which makes them useful for archiving, sharing, or printing reports.
Creating Paginated Reports in Power BI
Power BI Paginated Reports are built using Power BI Report Builder, a desktop tool that provides all the necessary functionality for creating detailed, paginated reports. Here’s how you can create a basic paginated report:
1. Install Power BI Report Builder
To begin, you will need to download and install the Power BI Report Builder. This free tool is specifically designed for creating paginated reports.
- Go to the Power BI Report Builder download page.
- Install it on your computer.
2. Connect to Data
Once you’ve installed Power BI Report Builder, the next step is to connect to your data source. Power BI Report Builder supports various data sources such as SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, and Power BI datasets.
- Open Report Builder.
- Go to File > New and select Blank Report.
- Under the Data menu, select Data Sources and create a new data source connection to your desired data.
3. Design the Report Layout
Once you’re connected to your data, you can begin designing the report layout. Power BI Report Builder provides a drag-and-drop interface for adding report elements, such as:
- Tables and Matrices: For displaying large datasets.
- Charts: To represent data visually.
- Text Boxes: To add headings, labels, or static content.
- Images: For logos, graphs, or other visuals.
- Sub-reports: For embedding one report within another.
You can control the layout and flow of your report, adding page breaks, headers, footers, and more to ensure your report is properly formatted.
4. Adding Parameters
To make your report dynamic, you can add parameters to allow users to filter data before the report is generated. To add a parameter:
- Right-click on the report.
- Select Report Properties.
- Go to the Parameters tab and add a new parameter.
- Define the parameter’s data type, available values (if needed), and default values.
5. Preview the Report
Once you’ve added the required data, tables, and formatting, you can preview your report. Click on the Run button in Power BI Report Builder to see how the report will look with live data.
6. Publish the Report to Power BI Service
After finalizing your report, you can publish it to the Power BI service for sharing and collaboration.
- Sign in to your Power BI service account from Power BI Report Builder.
- Select File > Publish and choose the workspace where you want to save your report.
Viewing and Sharing Paginated Reports
After publishing your report to the Power BI Service, users can access the paginated report in the Power BI portal. Paginated reports can be shared via links, embedded in other reports, or printed.
1. Sharing Reports
You can share paginated reports directly with others who have access to the workspace. You can also schedule report delivery by email for periodic distribution.
2. Exporting Reports
Power BI allows you to export paginated reports in various formats, including PDF, Excel, and Word. This is useful for users who want to print the reports or use them outside of the Power BI environment.
3. Scheduling Reports
If you want to automate the distribution of paginated reports, you can schedule them to run and be emailed to recipients at specific intervals. This can be done directly within the Power BI Service.
Best Practices for Paginated Reports
Creating high-quality paginated reports involves attention to detail and a few key best practices:
- Plan the Layout: Paginated reports require careful planning of space, page breaks, and content. Ensure that data is organized in a clean, readable format.
- Use Parameters Wisely: Adding filters via parameters makes reports more dynamic. However, excessive parameters can overwhelm users. Keep them simple and relevant.
- Test Before Publishing: Always preview and test the report thoroughly before publishing to ensure that the data is correctly displayed, the layout looks good on all pages, and the filters work as expected.
- Keep Performance in Mind: Paginated reports can become slow if you include too much data. Optimize the report by limiting the data to what’s necessary and using efficient queries.
- Consider Security: Control who has access to paginated reports by setting appropriate permissions in the Power BI Service.
Conclusion
Paginated reports in Power BI offer a robust solution for creating highly formatted, print-friendly reports that are ideal for scenarios where precision and consistency across pages are critical. Whether you are generating invoices, financial statements, or operational reports, paginated reports provide a detailed, professional layout that meets the needs of many businesses.
By leveraging Power BI Report Builder and Power BI Service, you can easily create, publish, and share these reports, enhancing your reporting capabilities and improving your data distribution processes.
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