Jan19 release issue - new filter pane appears on left side of window

[pdbenbow]

Version 1.4.6960.38798 (January 2019)

I upgraded our Dev and Test report servers to the Jan 2019 release of PBIRS this week. After uploading a new PBIX file to the Test report server, I noticed that the new Filter Pane is appearing on the left side of the screen, instead of the right (correct) side of the screen. I say "correct" because the caret that you click to expand/collapse the filter pane is even pointed in the wrong direction. I checked to see if this is a setting that can be configured in the report, and it is not. Has anyone else experienced this issue? Do the MSFT guys have an explanation?

[pdbenbow]

It sure would be nice if Microsoft would acknowledge this problem and let us know when/if a fix will become available. Today I noticed that the filter pane is also overlapping the report content on smaller screens.

[Anonymous]

Come on Microsoft give us some feedback please!!!!

@rpatkar

[d_gosbell]

Microsoft does not support any preview features in Report Server. The version of PBI Desktop that is designed to be used with the on-prem report server does not allow you to switch any of these features on. Possibly the only bug here is the lack of warnings when attempting to upload/run reports that are authored with a newer version of the desktop.

[rpatkar · Accepted solution]

Yes, as d_gosbell mentioned, we do not support preview features in Report Server. Morever only the version of Desktop that ships with Report Server is supported, i.e. the Desktop and Report Server have to be from same release cycle.

[Anonymous]

HI @pdbenbow, are you using the cloud version of the PBI desktop app?

[pdbenbow]

Yes, our organization uses both Power BI Service and Power BI Report Server, so we run both versions of Desktop in tandem. It's not uncommon for us to have reports authored in the cloud edition be published to the on-prem report server. However, I did not expect Desktop and the Report Server to actually render the new filter pane. To me, that is why this should be considered an issue -- the tools are rendering a feature that is not supported. I think other users who run hybrid environments like ours will encounter this same issue, so I at least want Microsoft to be aware of it.

[rpatkar]

Yes, sorry, to be clear, I do appreciate you raising the issue and I'll file a bug internally to address the issue for subsequent releases.

Thanks!

[pdbenbow]

Thanks, @rpatkar, I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Cheers!

[pdbenbow]

Quick update: I was able to get rid of the "new filter pane" in the report by following these steps:

1. Download the PBIX file from Report Server.

2. Open PBIX file in Power BI Desktop for the service (not the report server version).

3. Go to File > Options and Settings > Options > Report Settings.

4. Uncheck the box to disable the new "filter pane experience."

5. Save and close the file.

6. Open PBIX file in Power BI Desktop optimized for Report Server (Jan 2019 version).

7. Save the PBIX file back to the Report Server.

8. Run the report in Report Server -- new filter pane is gone and old filter pane is restored.

[Anonymous]

That's really interesting, we are keen to start working with the amended filter mechanism but we thought it was still in beta and not released in the Jan 2019 RS update.

I have checked the release notes and the filter functionality is not mentioned as a released item. It's a mystery?????

Any comments Microsoft?

[pdbenbow]

Yeah, that's funny. I thought it was in the release notes, but your comment made me go back and double-check and -- sure enough -- it's not in there.

Some more observations: if I start a report from scratch in the Jan2019 PBI Desktop, I do NOT have access to the new filter functionality. However, if I take an existing report that was originally authored in Dec2018 PBI Desktop (for Power BI Service) and open it in the Jan2019 PBI Desktop, not only can I access the new filter functionality, but I can deploy the report to one of my PBIRS instances and my users can take advantage of that functionality as well. Which would be awesome, and kind of makes me want to overlook the fact that it's popping up on the wrong side of the screen. (Also, I don't get any warning about the report being authored in a different version of PBI Desktop, which just adds to the mystery here.)

For example, in the screenshot below, you can see where PBIRS is using a locked filter -- something that (to my knowledge) is not an officially-released feature for PBIRS.

I'd love to get an official explanation from Microsoft, like "Yes, it's there, but we don't support it, so use at your own risk."

[Anonymous]

Really odd, looks like another bug to add to the Jan 2019 release fix.

@mgmeyer please can you confirm the status of the Filters pane and when it will be available in RS, thanks.