Automate Reports with Power BI Slicers

Why is it so hard to generate reports from Power BI based on dynamic slicers or filters?

We've heard from many frustrated Power BI users who are looking for a solution to automatically filter and export Power BI content to PDF or PowerPoint. Often the data end users don't want (or don't have a license) to view and filter the Power BI dashboard themselves. And it certainly isn't practical to run a PDF export manually for each combination of filters or slicers. Let's explore how Slideform solves this pain point to automate custom reports from Power BI.

What is Slideform?

Slideform is an automation platform that links data from Power BI and other dashboards & data sources to reports, slides, and documents. You use your own custom report template and Slideform fills in the data. Automation is especially useful for reports that you create on a recurring basis each month or week. Let's see how to use Slideform to put your reporting on auto-pilot!

Slideform Capabilities

• Cycle through slicer / filter values and create a report for each
• Create reports in PowerPoint, PDF, Google Slides and other reporting formats,
• Control the report layout and formatting separately from Power BI
• Combine Power BI with other data sources 
• Generate new reports with updated data on a schedule
• Slideform does not require Power Automate. No scripting required!

A step-by-step guide to generating reports from Power BI based on slicers

In this tutorial, we will automatically generate presentations for a set of slicer or filter values in a Power BI report. For every report run, Slideform will dynamically filter the Power BI content and generate a custom report for each value.

1. Connect Power BI to Slideform

Set up the Power BI integration in Slideform under "Data Sources". Click Add Integration and authenticate with your Microsoft credentials. Then select the workspace (Group) and report that you want to connect.

Slideform automation captures the content from your Power BI dashboard and allows you to embed it in any report or presentation.

For this tutorial we will use the sample Power BI dashboard pictured below. This dashboard page has two slicers: Date, and Region. We will generate a separate report for each of the Region values.

2. Upload a report template

Next, create a template for your report in Google Slides or PowerPoint. The template is a repeatable presentation with placeholders where you want to insert the charts or other content. The template specifies the colors, formatting, and layout that you want in each version of the presentation. This is the template for my example report. 

Each element that will be filled in by Slideform is represented by a placeholder in curly braces {{ }} . Placeholders can be linked to any connected Data Source, including a Power BI dashboard. Chart and table placeholders are with a shape object in the template to set the size and placement of the content on the slide. Text, dates, and KPIs can also be filled in from Power BI. 

This example slide template has placeholders for the name of the Region and metrics and charts that are found on the Power BI dashboard.

Once the PowerPoint or Google Slides template is ready, we upload it to Slideform in the New Project menu. Read more about the slide template here: How to create a slide template

3. Link data to the report

The final step is to match the content from Power BI to each placeholder in your template.

Go to the Data Sources page and click Configure on the Power BI data source. Then, in the Charts section, select the dashboard and click Preview. This will display each of the charts available for embedding.

You can rename the charts, click the star to "favorite", and send the chart to the slides from this page. To send a chart to your project, click the airplane "send" icon.

Automation isn't just limited to charts! Slideform captures the data behind your charts and scorecards. You can embed this data in editable tables and text values in your slide deck. For more information about data mapping, see: How to Configure the Data Mapping.

Dynamic Filtering

To enable filtering with the Region slicer, we map the {{region}} placeholder to be filled from the Region slicer on the Power BI dashboard. For setup details, see How to use Filters in Slideform. You can also set an automatic date range for your report.

4. Generate reports on-demand, in batches, or on a schedule

Now that you have connected Power BI, uploaded a template, and linked data to the template, you can start auto-generating reports!

There are three ways to generate output in Slideform:

1. Generate a report by clicking Generate. You be prompted to select which filter / slicer value to use. Then you can select the output format (PDF, PPT, or Google Slides) to save the report.
2. Create a batch of reports by cycling through slicer combinations. Use Bulk Mode to create one report for each slicer value. First, make a spreadsheet with the slicer values that you want to run. (You don't have to run a report for every value.) Then enter the spreadsheet in Bulk Mode and identify the column that contains your slicer values. Run the report in Bulk Mode to generate a new version for each slicer value. The results will be saved in your Google Drive or OneDrive and can also be sent to recipients by email.
   
   Here's the output for my three Regions.
   
   
   
3. Set a schedule to run the report. You can schedule reports to run one-at-a-time or with Bulk Mode. Just enter the schedule in Project Settings.

Why Slideform?

Slideform is a game-changer for anyone who regularly creates reports from Power BI. With a few minutes of setup, you can completely automate the tedious reporting workflow. Whether you’re a marketer, analyst, or agency owner, Slideform saves you time and helps deliver high-quality reports with ease.