Power BI is a great tool for turning data into clear, interactive reports and the best part?  It works smoothly with Business Central, right out of the box.  You just need to set it up, and you can start viewing powerful reports right inside within Business Central dashboard.  Microsoft provides several ready-made reports, grouped into different apps, so you can pick and install only what you need.  Once set up, these reports help you track key business insights without switching between systems.  In this blog, we’ll walk you through how to set up and use Power BI reports in Business Central to make smarter decisions. References Introduction to Business Central and Power BI Install Power BI apps for Business Central Configuration Open your Business Central and search for “Assisted Setup”. Click on “Connect to Power BI” Once the set up page opens, click on Next. Fiscal: A 12-month calendar that begins in any month and ends 12 months after. Standard: A 12-month calendar that begins on January 1 and ends on December 31. Weekly: A calendar that supports 445, 454, or 544 week groupings.The first and last day of the year might not correspond to a first and last day of a month, respectively. Specify the time zone. Specify the working days. Here, it asks for configuring individual apps for Power BI. You can skip this for now as we’ll be back at this later. In the next screen, specify the environment name and the company name. Now, we’ll install the “D365 Business Central – Sales” app in Power BI. Go to your Power BI dashboard and click on Apps.  Search for Business Central Open the relevant one and click on “Get it now” Then click on “Install” Wait for a few seconds till the installation is complete. Now, when you open the report for the first time, it’ll show the report with sample data. To view it with your own data, we need to connect the data to Business Central. Enter the company and environment name. Specify the authentication method to OAuth 2.0 and click on “Sign in and connect” After a few minutes, the refresh will be completed and you’ll see your data. Once this is done, search for “Power BI Connector Setup” In the relevant tab, Sales Report for this example, click on “Power BI Sales” field’s drill down. Select the app that you installed. Now go back to your Business Central dashboard and scroll down to the “Power BI” section. Click on the “Get Started with Power BI” and keep clicking on Next till the end of the setup. If there are any selected reports, you will see the relevant report. If not, you’ll see the following-  In either case, click on the drop-down next to Power BI or click on the “Select reports” Scroll down to find the appropriate report and click on “Enable” and then click on Ok. You will see your Power BI report on the dashboard. You can enable multiple reports and cycle through them by clicking on the “Next” and “Previous” buttons. You can also expand the report to see it as a full page within Business Central by clicking on the “Expand” page. You can further view it in Fullscreen as well. If you want to see multiple reports on the same page, we can create a custom role center and add multiple reports to them. For example, I’ve created a “Power BI dashboard” role center. In this way, we can have n number of reports on our dashboard. Source Code – BCApps-PowerBIDashboard Setting up Power BI in Business Central is a simple way to bring your data to life.  With just a few steps, you can connect your reports, see real-time insights, and make better business decisions all without leaving Business Central.  Whether you need sales trends, financial reports, or custom dashboards, Power BI makes it easy to track what matters most. If you need further assistance or have specific questions about your Business Central and Power BI Integration, feel free to reach out for personalized guidance. We hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.

Efficient data cleaning is a crucial step in any data preparation process, and Power Query makes it easy to handle common tasks like trimming and removing unnecessary spaces with functions that you can apply across multiple columns and queries at once. By creating and invoking a function, you can quickly trim and remove spaces from all the columns & tables you need, saving time and effort. In this blog, we’ll show you how to use Power Query functions to streamline your data-cleaning process. The power query we are going to use to trim text in columns is – (text as text, optional char_to_trim as text) =>letchar = if char_to_trim = null then ” ” else char_to_trim,split = Text.Split(text, char),removeblanks = List.Select(split, each _ <> “”),result=Text.Combine(removeblanks, char)inresult This Power Query function takes text as input and removes extra spaces or a specified character from a text string. It splits the text into parts, filters out empty strings, and recombines the cleaned parts using the specified character. If no character is provided, it defaults to removing spaces. The power query we are going to use to remove spaces from the text is – (InputTxt as text) => let Clendata = Text.Combine(List.Select(Text.Split(Text.Trim(InputTxt),” “),each _ <> “”),“”) in Clendata The Power Query function removes all spaces from a given text string. It trims the input, splits it by spaces, filters out blanks, and then combines the parts into a single string. The result is a clean, space-free text, ideal for standardized data preparation. Now, we have our power query function ready, we can use this function across multiple columns or dataset. To do so, go to Add Column > Invoke Custom Function > Your Power Query Function. To conclude, Cleaning and transforming data in Power Query become much easier and more efficient with the use of custom functions. Whether you need to remove spaces, clean multiple columns, or standardize text, these functions save time and ensure consistency across your dataset. By applying these techniques, you can handle large, messy datasets with ease, making your data ready for analysis or reporting. Start implementing these simple yet powerful methods today to streamline your data preparation process! We hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.

In today’s data-driven world, security is a top priority. As organizations rely on Power BI for analytics and reporting, ensuring that users only see data relevant to their roles is crucial. This is where Row-Level Security (RLS) comes into play.RLS allows you to restrict access to data at the row level based on user roles. In this blog, we’ll guide you through the process of implementing RLS in Power BI, ensuring your data is both secure and personalized for every user. What is Row-Level Security (RLS)? Row-Level Security is a feature in Power BI that enables you to control access to rows of data based on user roles. By applying RLS, you ensure that users see only the data relevant to their responsibilities, preventing unauthorized access. Why is RLS Important? Step 1: Open Power BI go to Modeling tab and click on manage roles Step 2: Add new roles select the appropriate table then filter the required data. Here I have done the filter based on the region, so I am giving access to the East region to the selected user. Step 3: Publish the report to the service or you can check from the Power BI Desktop app Step 4: Now, remove the View as the role from the desktop, publish the report in the service, and give access to the user as per requirement. Conclusion:Row-Level Security is an indispensable tool for ensuring data security and personalization in Power BI. By restricting access to data based on roles, you can enhance user experiences, improve compliance, and safeguard sensitive information. Ready to secure your Power BI reports with Row-Level Security? Start by identifying your data access requirements and defining roles in Power BI Desktop. If you need expert guidance, feel free to reach out, at transform@cloudfonts.com.           or explore more Power BI tips on our blog. 

In Power BI, tooltips are an effective way to provide additional context and details about your data. With just a hover, users can view insights that enhance their understanding of the visualization without overwhelming the main report page.Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced developer, learning how to add and customize tooltips in Power BI can significantly improve your report’s interactivity and user experience. This blog will guide you through the process, offering tips to create tooltips that are both informative and visually appealing. 1. What Are Tooltips in Power BI?Tooltips are pop-up details that appear when users hover over a data point in a visualization. They can display additional information about the data, such as summary statistics, comparisons, or related insights. 2. Why Use Tooltips? 3). Step By Step Procedure  Step 1: Open the Power BI report and create a visual. Step 2: Create a new page in Power BI, then go to Visualization – Format Your Report – Canvas Setting – Select Option Tooltip. Visualization – Format Your Report Canvas Setting Step 3: Then add the related visual that you need to add as a tooltip Step 4: Then click on the visual where you have to add the tooltips. ON the tooltip option and select the page where you have added the Tooltip. Step 5: Final Look of the visualization. Conclusion: Tooltips are a powerful feature in Power BI that can elevate the interactivity and usability of your reports. By adding custom tooltips, you can provide deeper insights without compromising the clarity of your main visuals. Following these steps and best practices will help you create tooltips that enhance your report’s overall impact. Ready to enhance your Power BI reports with custom tooltips? Start by experimenting with a simple tooltip page in your existing report. For more Power BI tips and tricks, explore our other blogs or contact out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.

In a data-rich business environment, delivering structured, print-ready reports is essential for effective decision-making. Paginated reports excel in providing detailed, scalable outputs such as invoices, financial statements, and operational summaries.For professionals working with a schematic model, Report Builder offers an intuitive platform for creating these reports. This blog will guide you through the process of designing a paginated report from your schematic model, ensuring accuracy and efficiency. 1. What Is a Schematic Model?A schematic model is a visual blueprint that outlines the structure and relationships between data entities like tables, columns, and keys. It is used to standardize and optimize data queries for reporting purposes. 2. What Are Paginated Reports?Paginated reports are highly formatted outputs designed for printing or sharing as PDF, Word, or Excel files. Unlike interactive dashboards, these reports are ideal for scenarios requiring precise layouts and handling large data sets. Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Paginated Report in Report Builder. Step-1: Open the Report Builder and Select on the Get Data, Get the data from the Semantic model. Step-2: Develop the report and publish the report. Step-3: Review the report in the power bi service Conclusion:Building paginated reports from a schematic model ensures accuracy, scalability, and professionalism. By using Report Builder, you can transform your raw data into actionable, structured reports that meet business requirements. Ready to create your first paginated report? Start by analyzing your schematic model and defining your reporting needs. If you need guidance, feel free to explore more resources or contact our team for expert advice, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.

In data analytics, paginated reports are essential for creating detailed, print-ready documents like financial statements, invoices, and performance reports. These reports are perfect for scenarios where a clear and well-organized layout is required.So, how can you create these reports using a schematic model? In this blog, we’ll break it down step by step, showing you how to turn raw data into meaningful, easy-to-read reports. Core Content 1. What Is a Schematic Model?A schematic model is a structured representation of your data, showing relationships between entities like tables, columns, and keys. It acts as the blueprint for querying and organizing your data efficiently. Tools like Power BI and SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) commonly use schematic models to simplify data workflows. 2. Why Paginated Reports Matter Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Paginated Report Step-1: Open the Power BI Service and select the report semantic model and there is an option for Create Paginated Report. Step-2: After opening you will find the Editor page from where you can develop the report Step-3: Design the report as per you requirement After creating the report, save the report and you can see new paginated report is visible in service. Conclusion:Creating a paginated report from a schematic model is a streamlined process when approached methodically. By leveraging a structured model, you ensure accuracy, scalability, and professional presentation for your business needs. CTA:Ready to transform your data into actionable insights? Start exploring your schematic model today and design your first paginated report. For guidance or best practices, explore more resources or reach out to our team of experts. We hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.

Introduction Tooltips are a powerful feature in Power BI, offering additional context and information for visuals. However, tooltips are not natively supported for column headers in Power BI. This means users cannot view detailed information about column headers directly. Fortunately, there’s a workaround to address this limitation, which we’ll explore in this blog post. The method we are going to use is the Action buttons. We will add an action button to column headers, and the action button will have a tooltip that shows header details. Please find a step-by-step guide for the same – 1.       First, we need to insert a button. Here I have used a blank button since I want to show the tooltip when the user hovers through a particular column area, but you can use any of the buttons based on your choice. 2. Now, go to the button visual settings, turn on the action button, set the type to bookmark with None as an option, and specify the tooltip. Conclusion In this blog post, we discussed adding tooltips to the column headers to give users more context. we hope you found this blog post helpful! If you have any questions or want to discuss further, please contact us at transform@cloudfronts.com.

Hi All, I’m going to show a useful feature that you can leverage to view and create instant Power BI visuals that is generated automatically based on the current view. Documentation Link Just an example: How it looks Steps to achieve this: Step 1: You need to enable this feature in Model-Driven App itself Edit Model-Driven App -> Settings -> Features -> ‘Enable Power BI quick report visualization on a table‘. Save and publish the settings Note: You also need ‘TDS endpoint‘ enabled in the environment feature settings Step 2: Refresh your browser and navigate to any table records view ( I took cases in the example) Step 3: Click the ‘Visualize this view‘ button on the command bar Note: You need to add the necessary columns in the current view if you want to show those columns in Power BI Reports Step 4: You can now see the Report generated automatically within a few mins. You can save these Reports if all necessary information is displayed here. Hope this helped you get faster Business Insights with auto-generated Power BI visuals.

In this blog, we will see how to extract the value for PdfDownloadUrl so we can load it into another request and get our PDF.

In this blog, we will see how to retrieve PDF Download URL from the console using the SSRS report. Step 1 – Create a new flow and set the trigger to Manually trigger a flow. Step 2 – After you have your trigger, you need to add two inputs to it, Report Name and Report XML. Step 3 – Then, add a List Rows action from the Dataverse connector and configure it to lookup the report by the Report Name.  Step 4 – Setup the report viewer – We do this using the HTTP with Azure AD connector, specifically the Invoke an HTTP request action. Step 5 – We need to authorize our connection to use this action. If you’re using Dynamics 365 online, grab your CRM URL (including https://) and paste it in for both Base Resource URL and Azure AD Resource URL. Method POST Url of the request /CRMReports/rsviewer/reportviewer.aspx Headers Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded Body of the request id=report&iscustomreport=Custom Report&reportnameonsrs=Name on SRS&CRM_Filter=encodeUriComponent(ReportXML)&reporttypecode=Report Type For encodeUriComponent – Use the following encodeUriComponent(triggerBody()[‘text_1’]) Step 6 – Extract the PdfDownloadUrl from the Report Viewer page. Let’s extract the value for PdfDownloadUrl so we can load it into another request and get our PDF. We’ll do this in 3 parts in Part 2.