Passing parameters to a Power BI report in Power BI Report Server

[Kenno]

Good Afternoon,

I am wondering if it is possible to pass a parameter to a Power BI Report Server URL that can then be used to a set a value in a filter or slicer?  The documentation on this is very vague and simply points to SSRS documentation within SQL Server.  Since this is supposed to be based off the similar setup, one might think that it would work the same.  In trying to utilize that documentation, it has not worked for any of our Power BI Report server reports.  Here is the referenced "Documentation": https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/report-server/developer-handbook-overview .

Any help would be appreciated.

[tayloramy]

hi @Kenno, 

Take a look at Filter a Report Using Query String Parameters in the URL - Power BI | Microsoft Learn for how special characters need to be encoded. I think the spaces (%20) are likely your issue, they need to be encoded as _x0020_. 

[tayloramy]

Hi @Kenno,  

While all the documentation references the service, this filtering works on report server as well, just add the 

&filter=Store/Territory eq 'NC'.

 to the end of your report server URL. 

[Kenno]

Hi @tayloramy ,

Thanks for the response, but that doesn't seem to work.  Here is the example URL that I attempted:

https://powerbiserver.wayne.enterprises.com/Reports/powerbi/Marketing/Instant%20Analysis/Instant%20Analysis?filter=Agency%2FFull%20Agency%20eq%20%2701-0000-00%20BRUCE-WAYNE%20ENT%200INC%27

As seen above, I would like to have the Agency/Company data filled in based on what is passed in.  Is this possible?

-Kenno

[v-menakakota]

Hi @Kenno ,
Thank you for sharing the details and the documentation reference.

Power BI Report Server does support passing filters through the report URL using the filter query parameter, which can be used to pre-filter a Power BI report when it loads. For example, you can append a filter like ?filter=Table/Column eq 'Value' to the report URL so the report opens with that filter already applied. 

For example: 

https://reportserver/reports/powerbi/SalesReport?rs:Embed=true&filter=Store/Territory eq 'NC'.

Microsoft documentation explains this approach here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-url-filters. 

However, this is different from SSRS-style parameter passing (?ParameterName=Value). That type of parameter passing is supported only for Paginated Reports (.rdl) and not for Power BI reports (.pbix) hosted in Power BI Report Server. If your requirement is to pass parameters through the URL similar to SSRS, the supported approach would be to use a Paginated Report, which allows parameters to be passed directly via the report URL as documented here https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/paginated-reports/parameters/pass-report-parameter-url

If I misunderstand your needs or you still have problems on it, please feel free to let us know. 

Best Regards, 
Community Support Team

[v-menakakota · Accepted solution]

Hi @Kenno ,

You are correct that Power BI Service and Power BI Report Server are different platforms. The examples that reference a Report ID (such as /groups/{workspaceId}/reports/{reportId}) apply only to reports hosted in Power BI Service. In Power BI Report Server (PBIRS), which is an on-premises environment, reports are accessed using the report path in the URL, typically in the format /reports/powerbi/ReportName. Because of this difference, PBIRS does not expose or require a Report ID, so there isn’t a way to retrieve a Report ID for reports hosted on Report Server.

For Power BI reports (.pbix) published to Power BI Report Server, SSRS-style parameter passing (for example ?ParameterName=Value) is not supported. That type of parameter passing works only for Paginated Reports (.rdl) where report parameters are defined and can be passed through the report URL. Because of this limitation, parameters cannot be passed through the URL to automatically control slicers or filters in a PBIX report hosted in Power BI Report Server.

Best Regards, 
Community Support Team

[v-menakakota]

Hi @Kenno ,

I hope the issue has been resolved. If you continue to experience any problems, please reach out here and we will assist you.

Best Regards, 
Community Support Team

[v-menakakota]

Hi @Kenno ,
I hope the issue has been resolved. If you continue to experience any problems, please reach out here and we will assist you.

Best Regards, 
Community Support Team

[Kenno]

Hi @v-menakakota ,

Thanks for the response.  It looks like the URL that you initially provided seems to be for Power BI service and not Power BI Report Server.  Is this functionality for Power BI service supposed to work for Power BI Report Server?  Is there any configuration that is needed to utilize it?  We have the May 2025 version of Power BI Report Server installed and it is an on-premise and I believe that this is different then Power BI service, but correct me if I am wrong.

If it is supposed to work on Report Server, what is the best way to get the Report Id as shown in the first example?  For the second example, this is a .pbix report, so maybe this could work, as long as it can be utilized with Power BI Report Server.

-Kenno