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Hi @NUR AFIQAH SYAFIA BINTI ADNAN,
Dashboards are created in Power BI Service (the web portal at app.powerbi.com), while Power BI Desktop is primarily used to build reports and data models.
More specifically, you use Power BI Desktop to design and develop your solution, and then publish it to the Power BI Service, where dashboards can be created. After publishing, you can pin visuals from your report to a dashboard in the Service.
It’s important to note that dashboards cannot be created in Power BI Desktop. Desktop is designed for reports, not dashboards.
Power BI Desktop is the main development tool and is typically used when you need to:
- Connect to data sources (such as Excel, SQL databases, etc.)
- Clean and transform data using Power Query
- Build relationships and measures in the data model
- Design report pages and visuals
Once your report is ready, you then publish it to the Power BI Service. In short, Desktop is the “build and development” environment for reports and datasets.
Power BI Service is used after publishing and allows you to:
- Create dashboards
- Pin visuals (tiles) from one or more reports into a single-page dashboard
- Share dashboards with other users
- Manage workspaces, user permissions, and data refresh schedules
Microsoft clearly states that dashboards are a feature exclusive to Power BI Service, not Power BI Desktop.
Here is a typical workflow to create a dashboard:
1/ Build the report in Power BI Desktop:
- Connect to your data (Excel, databases, etc.)
- Transform data if needed
- Create report visuals
- Save the .pbix file
2/ Publish the report to Power BI Service:
- Click Publish in Power BI Desktop
- Select the appropriate workspace
3/ Create the dashboard in Power BI Service:
- Open the published report in the Service
- Hover over a visual
- Click the Pin icon
- Choose New dashboard (and give it a name) or an existing dashboard
- Repeat for other key visuals
To create or edit content in a workspace (including pinning visuals to dashboards), you typically need to be an Admin, Member, or Contributor. The Viewer role is read-only. In addition, most authoring and sharing features require Power BI Pro or Premium Per User, depending on your organization’s setup.
In conclusion, dashboards are created only in Power BI Service. However, most users still begin with Power BI Desktop because it is the most powerful and practical tool for building datasets, models, and reports.
For more detailed guidance, you may find the following resources helpful:
- Create a Power BI dashboard from a report
- Introduction to dashboard tiles for Power BI designers
- Roles in workspaces in Power BI
You may also consider posting your question in the Find Answers | Microsoft Power Platform Community.
This forum is dedicated to Power Platform topics and is supported by a knowledgeable community, including Microsoft experts and partners. By posting there, you may receive more specialized insights and potentially discover effective workarounds.
I recommend this approach as my resources related to Power Platform are limited, and I want to avoid providing incomplete or inaccurate information. The community is better positioned to offer targeted assistance and also enables others to learn from shared experiences.
I hope this clarifies the workflow and helps improve your process.
Wishing you a great day.
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