Automating PDF Exports for Power BI Reports with Multiple Filter Options

[Neeraj_I]

Hi Power BI Community,

I’m facing a challenge and would appreciate your insights.

Here’s the scenario:

We have a Power BI dashboard with a filter containing values ranging from "Page 1" to "Page 100" (see the green-circled section below). Changing this filter updates various metrics on the dashboard.

The Challenge:
our team need to export a PDF for each filter option regularly. Currently, the only way to do this is:

1. Select a filter value.
2. Export the report to PDF.
3. Repeat for the next filter value—100 times!

Possible Solution:
One idea is to create a page of links to the Power BI report, incorporating the filter as a query string parameter in the URL, as described in this Microsoft Learn article. Then, these links could be opened sequentially, and the reports exported to PDF.

We’re also exploring automation using Power Automate Desktop to streamline the process, but we’re not sure if this is feasible yet.

Request for Help:
Have any of you encountered a similar situation? If so, do you have ideas or best practices to minimize manual effort and avoid 100+ clicks?

Thank you in advance for sharing your expertise!

Best regards,
Neeraj

[Clebruh]

@Neeraj_I @sm400 @KiranHosakote ,

Were you able to resolve the issue with Power Automate using the Export To File for Power BI Reports connector?

I can create a page snapshot and add it to a PDF, but I'm struggling to loop through each option in the filter selection to create separate pages within the PDF. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

My objective is to generate a single PDF with a repeating page for each filter selection and then email the users with that PDF attached. 

[Neeraj_I]

Hi @KiranHosakote : Thank you for the suggestion. We are currently exploring potential limitations we might encounter if we proceed with Power Automate. I am in discussions with the team to evaluate all possible options before considering a third-party solution.

[sm400]

Hi @Neeraj_I - did you have any success with this?

[KiranHosakote]

Hi @Neeraj_I 

There isn't a fully automated solution for your issue using Power BI and Power Automate alone. However, if you consider third-party solutions, BI Helper at https://bihelper.tech could fulfill your needs. This tool is also listed in the Microsoft AppSource store under Business Apps – Microsoft AppSource.

BI Helper is a user-friendly SaaS application that facilitates the automated creation and distribution of personalized PDFs (with applied filters and slicers). It's secure, scalable, and requires just one Power BI Pro / PPU license.

BI Helper doesn't need Power Automate or any IT infrastructure, allowing business users to set it up and manage it with ease.