Bookmarks in PowerBI.

PowerBI Course.

Bookmarks in Power BI are a powerful feature that allows you to capture and save the current state of a report page, including filters, slicers, drill-downs, and the visibility of objects. This enables you to create interactive and dynamic reports that users can navigate easily. 

What Can Bookmarks Do?

1. Capture Report State: Save the current state of filters, slicers, drill-downs, and object visibility.
2. Navigation: Create buttons that users can click to navigate between different states of the report.
3. Storytelling: Guide users through a narrative by showing different perspectives of the data.
4. Toggle Visibility: Show or hide visuals based on user interactions.

How to Create and Use Bookmarks

Step 1: Enable the Bookmarks Pane

1. Open your Power BI Desktop report.
2. Go to the View tab.
3. Check the Bookmarks Pane option to display the bookmarks pane.

Step 2: Create a Bookmark

1. Set the report page to the desired state (e.g., apply filters, slicers, etc.).
2. In the bookmarks pane, click on the Add button.
3. A new bookmark will appear. Rename it to something descriptive by right-clicking and selecting Rename.

Step 3: Customize Bookmark Options

1. Data: Include the state of filters, slicers, and other data-related elements.
2. Display: Include the visibility of visuals and their settings.
3. Current Page: Save the current page view.
4. All Visuals: Capture the state of all visuals on the page.
5. Selected Visuals: Capture the state of only selected visuals.

You can customize these options by right-clicking on the bookmark and selecting Update.

Step 4: Use Bookmarks for Navigation

1. Buttons and Shapes: Insert a button or shape from the Insert tab. With the button or shape selected, go to the Action pane. Toggle the Action slider to On. Set the action type to Bookmark and select the desired bookmark from the dropdown list.
2. Selection Pane: Use the selection pane (found under the View tab) to manage the visibility of objects. Combine this with bookmarks to create dynamic views where objects appear or disappear based on user interactions.

Step 5: Organize and Group Bookmarks

1. Grouping: Right-click on a bookmark and select Group to create a bookmark group. Drag and drop bookmarks into the group to organize them.
2. Ordering: Drag bookmarks up or down in the pane to reorder them.

Practical Use Cases

1. Report Navigation: Create a main dashboard page with buttons that navigate to detailed report pages.
2. Dynamic Reporting: Use bookmarks to switch between different views of the data, such as different time periods or scenarios.
3. Interactive Presentations: Guide your audience through a story by creating a sequence of bookmarks that highlight key insights.

Tips and Best Practices

1. Clear Naming Conventions: Use descriptive names for your bookmarks to easily identify their purpose.
2. Consistent Updates: Regularly update bookmarks as your report evolves to ensure they reflect the current state of your data.
3. Test Interactions: Thoroughly test bookmark actions and interactions to ensure they work as intended for end-users.

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