Report Pages & Paginated Reports
Configure report pages, understand when to choose paginated reports over interactive reports, and control export settings for sharing and distribution.
Designing effective report pages
Think of a newspaper front page. The headline grabs attention, the main story is top-left, and supporting details are arranged in a clear hierarchy. Readers instantly know where to look.
Report pages work the same way. Page settings control size, background, and layout. Paginated reports are a different format entirely — designed for printing long, pixel-perfect documents like invoices or compliance reports.
Page configuration
| Setting | What It Controls | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Page size | Width and height of the canvas | Format → Canvas settings → Type |
| Page background | Background colour or image | Format → Canvas background |
| Wallpaper | Background behind the canvas area | Format → Wallpaper |
| Page type | Tooltip page or standard (configured in Page information). Drillthrough is set by adding fields to the drillthrough well on the destination page. | Format → Page information |
| Page visibility | Hide page from navigation tabs | Format → Page information → Hidden |
Common page sizes:
- 16:9 (default) — widescreen monitors
- 4:3 — presentations and older screens
- Letter/A4 — print-optimised
- Custom — any dimensions for specific needs
Interactive reports vs paginated reports
| Feature | Interactive Report (Power BI Desktop) | Paginated Report (Report Builder) |
|---|---|---|
| Created in | Power BI Desktop | Power BI Report Builder (or SSRS) |
| Best for | Exploration, dashboards, self-service analytics | Pixel-perfect printable documents, invoices, compliance |
| Interactivity | Full — slicers, drillthrough, bookmarks | Limited — parameters for filtering, no slicers |
| Page count | Fixed canvas (scrollable) | Dynamic — can span hundreds of printed pages |
| Data volume | Best with summarised data | Can handle row-level detail for thousands of rows |
| Export quality | Good for screen; PDF export works but layout may shift | Pixel-perfect PDF, Excel, Word export |
| Headers/footers | No built-in support | Full headers, footers, page numbers |
| Where published | Power BI workspace | Power BI workspace (requires Premium/PPU) |
When to choose paginated reports
Kenji at Apex Manufacturing (🏭) needs:
- Interactive dashboard for the factory floor → Power BI report
- Monthly production report (50-page PDF sent to management) → Paginated report
- Invoice template with precise formatting → Paginated report
Dr. Ethan at Bayview Medical (🏥) needs:
- Department KPI dashboard → Power BI report
- Patient discharge summary (one page per patient, hundreds of patients) → Paginated report
- Compliance audit report with row-level detail → Paginated report
Exam tip: paginated report triggers
The exam tests “choose when to use a paginated report.” Key triggers:
- “Print-ready” or “PDF” → paginated
- “Hundreds of pages” or “row-level detail” → paginated
- “Invoice”, “statement”, “compliance report” → paginated
- “Headers and footers” or “page numbers” → paginated
- “Pixel-perfect formatting” → paginated
If the scenario says “interactive exploration” or “dashboard” → interactive report.
Export settings
Control what users can export from your reports:
| Export Setting | What It Controls |
|---|---|
| Export to PDF | Allow/block PDF export |
| Export to PowerPoint | Allow/block PPTX export |
| Export data | Allow users to export underlying data from visuals |
| Copy visual | Allow users to copy visual images |
| Allow/block printing |
These settings are configured at the tenant level (admin portal), workspace level, or report level by the report author.
Nadia at Prism Agency (📊) disables “Export data” on client-facing reports to prevent raw data extraction — clients can see the dashboards but can’t download the underlying numbers.
Knowledge check
Kenji needs to generate a 50-page monthly production report with page numbers, headers, and row-level detail, distributed as a PDF. What should he use?
Dr. Ethan wants to hide a report page from the navigation tabs so users can only reach it through a drillthrough button. How does he hide the page?
Next up: Mobile, Accessibility and Personalisation — design reports that work everywhere and for everyone.