Trying to export a specific PowerBI report via email (using Power Automate)

[ChrisAZ]

So I built a Power Automate flow, and I am able to get it to the point where I can get it to send emails based on my list, but it is sending the same unfiltered version to everyone. I am passing it a Google Sheet with a Driver name column and an email address. It is meant to take that and then in PowerBI it looks at a specific Report, and is supposed to apply a specific Table/Field name and then match those to the Google Sheet list, and send the emails out with the PDF version for each of those individuals. It only seems to be sending it out based on whatever the filter is set to on the PowerBI workspace directly, ignoring the filter I am passing it. I feel like this should not be this complicated as I cannot be the only one who has a specific report in PowerBI that they would like to distribute to different people but with their own filter applied to it so they get their filtered version.

[Poojara_D12]

Hi @ChrisAZ 

The issue you’re facing happens because Power Automate, by default, exports the Power BI report as it exists in the workspace without applying any dynamic filters from your Google Sheet. That’s why every recipient is getting the same unfiltered version of the PDF. To make it work the way you intend, you need to explicitly pass filters to Power BI during the export process. This is done using the “Report level filters” field in the Export to File for Power BI Reports action, where you provide a filter string in the format ?filter=TableName/ColumnName eq 'Value'. In your flow, as you loop through each row of your Google Sheet, you should build this filter dynamically by substituting the Driver Name from the sheet. That way, for each driver, the report is re-rendered with their filter applied, and Power Automate will generate a personalized PDF that only contains their data before sending it to their email address. This approach ensures that every recipient gets their own filtered view rather than a generic version of the report.

[v-hashadapu]

Hi @ChrisAZ , Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Community Forum.

Your flow is built right, but the reason everyone’s getting the same unfiltered report is that the Export to File for Power BI Reports action will ignore your filter JSON unless three things are true: the report is in a Premium or PPU workspace, your JSON filter matches the exact dataset schema names (not display names and case-sensitive) and the report is saved in a clean state with no preset filters that override the API.

In your flow, you need to drop the filter JSON into the Report level filters (JSON) box of the Export step, looping through your Google Sheet and dynamically substituting the driver name for each row. That way, each iteration generates a uniquely filtered export tied to the right email. If your report is in Premium and your field names match, this will work exactly as intended.

[ChrisAZ]

I was able to get this resolved under another thread where I posed a video of my process and there were a few minor syntax updates needed. I am a bit confused on whether a Premium PPU license works for this as I have seen and heard from some that it will work fine for what we are trying to do, and others pointing to documentation stating it requires a Fabric capacity to do this. Can you confirm? To add, it works right now because we are on a Trial of Fabric, but wondering if we wind up purchasing a Premium PPU license, will that still work.

[v-hashadapu · Accepted solution]

Hi @ChrisAZ , Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Community Forum.

A Premium Per User (PPU) license alone will not keep your flow working the way it does under the Fabric trial. The Export to File for Power BI Reports action only works if the report’s workspace is on a dedicated capacity (Premium or Fabric). PPU gives you per-user access to premium features, but it doesn’t place the workspace on dedicated capacity, so once your Fabric trial ends, those filtered exports will fail. If you want the automation to keep running, you’ll need to assign the workspace to a Premium/Fabric capacity.

Power BI Premium Per User - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn

Export Power BI embedded analytics reports API - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

[ChrisAZ]

Thanks for the confirmation. We have decided to go with a 3rd party tool to do this that is actually less complicated and will be far cheaper than paying for a full Fabric capacity for what we need. Microsoft should really come up with more options for cases such as this where we do not need a giant bill for a small amount of use. The tool is called BI Helper.

[tharunkumarRTK]

@ChrisAZ 

You can do this many ways, One of the easiest option is to use dynamic subscriptions feature. 

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/power-bi-dynamic-report-subscriptions

You can also read one of my blog where I exaplined a scenario in detail

https://medium.com/@tharunkumarr98/power-bi-report-subscriptions-does-not-respect-rls-be66171f27e8

Do remember this feature will only work if your report is hosted in a workspace backed by premium capacity.

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[ChrisAZ]

This solution seems to be around setting security permissions for subscribers. What I am trying to do has to do with sending these reports out to a distribution list (not subscribers) using Power Automate.

[Shahid12523]

Fix: In your Export to File for Power BI Reports step in Power Automate, use the Filter JSON option.

Example:

{"tables":[{"name":"TableName","filter":"[DriverName] eq 'John Doe'"}]}

Loop through your Google Sheet → pick DriverName & Email → pass DriverName into the filter JSON → send the exported PDF to that email.

⚠ Needs Premium / PPU workspace.

[ChrisAZ]

Not sure if you saw my latest response but still not sure how to proceed.

[ChrisAZ]

I think this is essentially how I had it configured. Even though the logs of the inputs seemed to show it doing it for each listed driver, it would still only actually send out whatever the filter was set to open the PowerBI report to everyone. It would not apply that filter and send the specific report for them based on the match in the Google Sheet list to that individual. Any way you could show a screenshot of where you are putting that syntax?