Power Automate - Export to File for Power BI Reports - Filtering

[Casey_Alderson]

Hi All, 

I have a BI report that serves as a reconciliation of financial accounts and activity. The only filter is a between date slicer that is used to select the period of time being considered. I want to be able to use the Export to File for Power BI Reports automation to capture an export of the report to use in an approval workflow. I had the flow setup and it was working but would only capture the data state from the Published state. If I change the date range while in service and click the export button, it works but the report exports as whatever the date range was when published last not based on current slicer settings. From research, it appears the only way to make filtering work for this is through the report filter parameter in the Power Automate action but I can't find anything to help with how to write that instruction when dealing with a dynamic date range. Has anyone figured this out? Bonus points for simplicity, I'm not a coder by any means. 

[Casey_Alderson]

Hello @freginier 

Thank you so much for your support. This sounds like what I need but I'm running into some issues with the setup of the Parameter (i don't have a lot of experience with them). I created a Parameter in desktop based on the DateTable[Date] field but it came through as text type so it didn't function when I tried to use it in the slicer. When i tried to change the format to Date there was an error on the table portion of the parameter stating it couldn't process text as a date. 

Could break down how to add and calibrate the parameter to make this solution work?

Thank you again!

Casey

[v-menakakota · Accepted solution]

Hi @Casey_Alderson ,

Thank you for reaching out to us on the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

Since your issue revolves around Power Automate’s "Export to File for Power BI Reports" action and dynamically applying filters, the Power Automate Forum would be the best place to seek guidance. While Fabric users may have experience with Power BI exports, Power Automate experts are more likely to provide precise instructions on formatting the report filter parameter for handling dynamic date ranges.

Please refer the below link:
https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Power-Automate-Community/ct-p/MPACommunity.

If this post was helpful, please give us Kudos and consider marking Accept as solution to assist other members in finding it more easily.

[Casey_Alderson]

Thank you, I'll add a question there as well. Thank you for the suggestion!

[v-menakakota]

Hi @Casey_Alderson ,

Could you please confirm if you've submitted this issue in the Power Automate Forum?

If we don’t hear back, we’ll go ahead and close this thread. For any further discussions or questions, please start a new thread in the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum  we’ll be happy to assist.

Thank you for being part of the Microsoft Fabric Community.

[Casey_Alderson]

The thread can be closed. Thanks

[v-menakakota]

Hi @Casey_Alderson ,

We really appreciate your efforts and for letting us know the update on the issue.

Please continue using fabric community forum for your further assistance.

Thank you

[v-menakakota]

Hi @Casey_Alderson ,

I hope this information is helpful. If it is, please Accept it as a solution and give it a 'Kudos'. This will assist other community members in resolving similar issues more quickly.

Thank you.

[freginier]

Hey there Casey!

To export a Power BI report with the dynamic filter from a slicer (like a date slicer) while using Power Automate, follow these steps:

1. Using the Report Filter Parameter: Power Automate allows you to use report filter parameters to dynamically filter the data when exporting a report. This will allow the export to reflect the selected date range in your slicer.

   You can achieve this by adding a filter parameter to the Power BI report and configuring it in Power Automate. Here's what you need to do:

2. Configure the Filter Parameter in Power BI:

   • In Power BI, you can set up a parameter for the slicer (for example, a date range). This parameter will allow dynamic filtering based on the slicer selection.

   • When you publish the report to Power BI Service, ensure that you have this parameter defined in the report. For date filtering, it could be a DateTime parameter.

3. Set Up Power Automate to Use the Filter Parameter:

   • In Power Automate, when you create the Export to File for Power BI Reports action, make sure to include the report filter parameter.

   • Add the filter parameter to the "Export to File" action in Power Automate. You'll need to pass the current value of the date range parameter to the export function.

   • You can do this by specifying the filter parameters in the "Export to File" action. This way, the export will reflect the slicer’s current selection rather than the last published state of the report.

4. Pass the Dynamic Date Range:

   • If you need to get the selected date dynamically, you could use Power Automate to capture the current slicer value and pass that into the report filter when triggering the export.

   • For example, you can retrieve the slicer values using Power BI REST API or other available connectors in Power Automate.

5. Testing:

   • After setting up the report filter parameter and the Power Automate flow, make sure to test it by selecting a new date range in your report, then running the flow to see if the export captures the correct data for the selected date range.

By following these steps, you'll be able to create a dynamic export that respects the filters selected in the report, without relying on the last published state.

Hope this helps!

😁😁