Power BI Desktop Interface

Power BI Desktop Interface

It enables users to create interactive reports and dashboards from multiple data sources through a user-friendly interface.

Power BI Desktop is specifically designed for report development and provides powerful tools for modeling, transforming, and visualizing data.

Let us explore the main components of the Power BI Desktop interface.

1. Title Bar

The title bar is located at the top of the Power BI Desktop window.
It displays:
The name of the current report (.pbix)
Standard window controls:

• Minimize
• Maximize
• Close

2. Welcome Screen / Home Screen

When Power BI Desktop starts, it displays the Welcome Screen.

From the Welcome Screen, you can:

• Get Data from various sources
• View Recent sources
• Open recent reports
• Open other Power BI report files

To begin working, close the Welcome Screen and proceed to the main workspace.

3. Power BI Ribbon

The Ribbon is a central command bar that provides tools organized into tabs.

3.1 Home

This tab contains commonly used options:

• Get Data, Transform Data
• Refresh
• Save/Open Report
• Undo/Redo

This is the primary tab used for data import and management.

3.2 Insert

The Insert tab allows you to add:

• Visuals (Charts, Graphs, Tables)
• Cards and KPIs
• Images and Shapes
• Text Boxes

This tab is used to enhance the report layout with elements.

3.3 Modeling

The Modeling tab provides:

• Relationship management
• Calculated column creation
• Measure creation (DAX)
• Hierarchies

Sorting and filtering settings

 

3.4 View

The View tab allows customization of the report display:

• Zoom controls
• Show/Hide gridlines
• Themes
• Switch between views
  
  

  

  
  
  

3.5 Optimize

This tab provides performance-related tools such as

• Pause & Refresh Visuals
• Performance Analyzer
• Apply All Slicers

These options help analyze and improve report performance.

3.6 Help

The Help tab gives access to:

• Documentation
• Community forums
• Tutorials
• Support links
  
  

  

  
  
  

4. Expand and Collapse Panes

Power BI Desktop allows you to expand or collapse the panes on the right for a larger workspace.

4.1 Data (Fields) Pane
Also known as the Fields Pane, this shows:

• Loaded tables
• Columns
• Measures
• Calculated fields

Fields can be dragged onto the report canvas or used inside visuals.

4.2 Visualization Pane

This pane lists all visual types:

• Bar, line, and Pie charts
• Maps
• Tables & Matrices
• Cards & KPIs

You can drag fields into visualization buckets to populate visuals.

4.3 Filters Pane

Filters can be applied at:

• Visual level
• Page level
• Report level

Slicers act as interactive filters that end users can use during consumption.

5. Page Navigation Pane

The Page Navigation Pane appears at the bottom of the canvas area.

• It allows you to:
• Add new report pages
• Rename pages
• Switch between pages

6. Main Views

Power BI Desktop offers three primary views:

6.1 Report View

This is the default view.
Used for:

• Designing reports
• Creating visuals
• Arranging layout

6.2 Data View

Used for:

• Inspecting table data
• Creating calculated columns
• Reviewing imported data

6.3 Model View

Used for:

• Viewing & managing data relationships
• Creating joins
• Configuring cross-filter settings

7. Dashboard Canvas / Workspace

The Canvas, or Workspace, is the central area where visuals are:

• Added
• Arranged
• Sized
• Designed

This is where you build the actual report.