Calling PBI Report Builder from Azure Data Factory (ADF)

[SreeSri3010]

Hi,

I would like to trigger PBI Paginated Reports from ADF. Is it possible? Kindly share ideas to achieve this requirement

[Poojara_D12]

Hi @SreeSri3010 

While Azure Data Factory (ADF) does not provide a built-in activity to directly trigger Power BI Paginated Reports, it is possible to achieve this requirement through a combination of Power BI REST APIs, Azure Logic Apps, or Azure Functions, orchestrated from within ADF pipelines. The goal is to trigger the export or delivery of a Paginated Report (typically in PDF, Excel, or other formats) after a data pipeline has completed processing.

To do this, you can use the Power BI REST API’s ExportToFile endpoint, which supports exporting Paginated Reports hosted in a Power BI Premium workspace. Since ADF cannot call the REST API directly, you can create an Azure Function (or a Logic App) that authenticates using a service principal or managed identity, sends an API request to export the report, and optionally monitors the export job until it's complete.

From your ADF pipeline, add a Web activity that triggers this Azure Function or Logic App at the appropriate point—such as after a data load or transformation. You can even pass report parameters dynamically to the API so that the output reflects the latest data. The exported file can be saved to Azure Blob Storage or emailed as needed.

In summary, while ADF doesn’t natively support triggering Paginated Reports, you can build a scalable solution by combining Power BI REST APIs, Azure Functions or Logic Apps, and ADF Web activities—giving you full control over when and how Paginated Reports are generated and distributed as part of your data pipeline workflow.

[v-tsaipranay]

Hi @SreeSri3010 ,

May I ask if you have resolved this issue? If so, please mark the helpful reply and accept it as the solution. This will be helpful for other community members who have similar problems to solve it faster.

Thank you.

[v-tsaipranay]

Hi @SreeSri3010  ,

I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions. If my response has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.

Thank you.

[v-tsaipranay · Accepted solution]

Hi @SreeSri3010 ,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Fabric Community forum.

Power BI Paginated Reports cannot be triggered directly from Azure Data Factory (ADF). However, this functionality can be achieved by utilizing the Power BI REST API, particularly the ExportToFile API, which allows you to export paginated reports in formats such as PDF, Excel, and CSV.

To proceed, ensure your paginated report is published to a Power BI workspace with Premium capacity, Fabric workspace, or a PPU license. Additionally, register an Azure AD application and grant it the necessary Power BI API permissions, such as Report.Read.All or Report.ReadWrite.All.

Next, use the Power BI REST API endpoint https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/{groupId}/reports/{reportId}/ExportTo to start exporting the report, you need to make an API call. This process is asynchronous, so after initiating the export, use the GetExportToFileStatus API to check when it's finished and get the download link once the file is ready.

Azure Data Factory doesn't have built-in support for Power BI integration. The recommended approach is to use an Azure Function or Logic App to manage authentication, API requests, status checks, and saving the exported file (such as to Azure Blob Storage). You can then trigger this function or app from ADF using a Web activity or Azure Function activity.

For reference, the official Microsoft documentation includes:

• Power BI REST API: ExportToFile
• Export paginated reports in Power BI
• Registering an Azure AD app and setting API permissions

This approach is fully supported and allows you to programmatically export and use Power BI paginated reports within your ADF workflows.

Hope this helps. Please reach out for further assistance.

If this post helps, then please consider to Accept as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly and a kudos would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[v-tsaipranay]

Hi @SreeSri3010  ,

I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions. If my response has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.

Thank you.