To foster a healthy data culture, it’s important for organizations to provide a way for users to quickly find reliable and high-quality data that answers their business questions. In Power BI, most users start discovering their data mining journey on Home – a personalized landing page that provides one-click access to metrics that matter the most.
When Home was first introduced in September 2018, a significant number of report authors and administrators requested for an ability to control what content shows up on Home for their end users. Organizations also wanted to customize the first-run experience for new users entering the service.
Today, I’m excited to announce that we’re delivering on this request by introducing Featured content on Power BI Home. Now, administrators or designated promoters will have a dedicated section on Home to promote reports, dashboards, and apps and set the default recommended content for their end users. By setting default content, organizations can ensure new users will discover relevant content and have a standardized experience for navigating within the service. You can even add descriptions and snapshots to reports and dashboards that show up in this section!
Heads up: We’re still working on lighting up the ability to promote Apps on Home. It should be rolled out to all users by March 18, 2020. For now, you should be able to promote reports and dashboards.
Getting started
First, you need to enable the feature. As a tenant admin, go to the Tenant settings in the Admin portal and enable the Featured content feature switch. Once it’s enabled, make sure you define the select group of users or security groups (aka “promoters”) that have permissions to promote content to Home. In most cases, these are content authors that are responsible for building and distributing analytics to end users.
Promote_your_reports_dashboards_and_apps_on_Power_BI_HomePromoting content
In addition to being part of the select group of users that have permissions to promote content in the Featured content tenant settings, workspace members also need to have Write permissions to reports, dashboards, or apps in order to promote them. Once users have the appropriate permissions, the rest is easy:Dashboards
Navigate to the workspace that contains your dashboard, and open the dashboard settings. You will notice that there is an additional field for Description, a section to upload your Snapshot, and a toggle to promote the dashboard in the Featured section.
Promote_your_reports_dashboards_and_apps_on_Power_BI_HomeGo ahead and enter a description for the dashboard, upload a thumbnail, enable the Featured toggle, and hit Save.
Promote_your_reports_dashboards_and_apps_on_Power_BI_HomeAnd, that’s it! All users that have permissions to access this dashboard will now see it under the Featured section on Home. Go to Home, refresh your page, and you should see the following:
Promote_your_reports_dashboards_and_apps_on_Power_BI_HomeReports
It works the same way for reports. Navigate to the workspace that contains your report, and open the report settings. Go ahead and enter a description for the report, upload a thumbnail, enable the Featured toggle, and hit Save.
Promote_your_reports_dashboards_and_apps_on_Power_BI_HomeIt will show up on Home for all users that have permissions to access this report.
Promote_your_reports_dashboards_and_apps_on_Power_BI_HomeApps
Lastly, for Apps, navigate to the original workspace of the app, and open the ellipsis menu. Then click on Feature this app on Home.
Promote_your_reports_dashboards_and_apps_on_Power_BI_HomeAll users that have permissions to access this app should also see it in the Featured section on Home.
Promote_your_reports_dashboards_and_apps_on_Power_BI_HomeManaging Featured content for Admins
As a tenant admin, you can also manage all the reports, dashboards, and apps that have been promoted to the Featured section on Home across the organization by selecting the Featured content menu item in the Admin portal.
Promote_your_reports_dashboards_and_apps_on_Power_BI_HomeHere you will see an overview of who featured the content, when it was featured, and all its relevant metadata:
Promote_your_reports_dashboards_and_apps_on_Power_BI_Home
FAQ
When I promote content, how do I specify which users see it on their Home?Content that is promoted will automatically appear to users that have permissions to view it. For example, if you create a new report, share it with users X and Y, and promote it on Home, only X and Y users will see the report in Featured section on Home.
How is content sorted in the Featured section?
Content is sorted in descending order based on the date it was promoted. In other words, the most recently promoted report/dashboard/app will show up on the far left.
Can I control where the feature section is on Home? Why does show up below Favorites/Frequents, Recents, and Apps?
No, there is no capability to customize the sections on Home. The Featured section shows up below Favorites/Frequents, Recents, and Apps because those areas are personalized for the each user. We did not want to disrupt the existing navigation experience for existing users extensively use Home, so this was the the most appropriate placement for the section. On the bright side, for new users that haven't accessed any content, Featured will be the first section they will see.
Is there a limitation to how much content I can promote?
A single tenant can promote up to 500 reports, dashboards, and apps, combined. If this isn’t enough for you, let us know.
Next steps
- Try out the feature! Head on over to the Power BI service, enable the feature switch, and start promoting your favorite reports or dashboards!
- Hang tight — we’ll be enable the capability for you to promote apps very soon!
- Have any feedback? We’d love to hear it! Please leave comments below or in the Power BI forums.