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Add live Power BI data to PowerPoint

  • Article

With the Power BI add-in for PowerPoint, you can add both individual visuals and whole report pages to your PowerPoint slides.

  • When you add a whole report page, the left-hand page navigation pane isn't brought in by the add-in, but any page navigation visuals on the report page itself will function normally as they do in the Power BI service.
  • Adding individual visuals is useful when you want your slide to focus on a single visualization - chart, graph, table, etc.

To add live Power BI data to a PowerPoint slide, you first need to get the URL of the report page or visual. You then paste the URL into the Power BI add-in in PowerPoint.

Get the URL of a report page

If you want to add a live report page to your presentation, you need to have its URL. There are three ways to get the report page URL:

  • Through the Share option
  • Through the Export option (this method is not available in national/regional clouds)
  • From the browser's address bar

These methods differ in whether or not they can preserve the report page's current state, and what permissions people who open the PowerPoint presentation will have for viewing the report. The table below summarizes the differences.

URL source URL can preserve current state Can users who open the presentation view the report?
Share Yes Yes, if you grant read permissions when generating the shareable link.
Export Yes Depends on the user's Power BI permissions
Address bar No Depends on the user's Power BI permissions

Use the Share option if you want to be sure that all users who open the presentation will be able to view the report.

Choose how you want to get the report page URL.

  1. In the Power BI service, open the report to the page you want to insert. If desired, configure the page to the desired state using filters, selection, slicers, etc.

  2. Choose Share.

    Screenshot of Power BI report Share option.

  3. Choose the permissions you want to grant and who you want to grant them to, as described in the sharing reports documentation. Select Apply.

    Screenshot of Power BI report send link dialog.

  4. Check the Include my changes box if you want to share the report pages current state, and then select PowerPoint.

    Screenshot of Power BI report include my changes checkbox.

    Note

    The Open in PowerPoint option is not available in national/regional clouds. Choose Copy link instead and then paste the link into the Power BI PowerPoint add-in.

  5. Copy the URL to paste into the Power BI PowerPoint add-in. Alternatively, if you want to create a new presentation with the report already loaded into the add-in, choose Open in PowerPoint.

    Screenshot of Power BI report copy link dialog.

Get the URL of a visual

If you want to add a live visual to your presentation, you need to have its URL. The easiest way to get a visual's URL is as follows.

  1. In the Power BI service, open the report to the page that has the visual you want to insert. If desired, configure the visual to the desired state using filters, selection, slicers, etc.

  2. Right click on the visual, or alternatively, select More options (...). Then:

    • If you're adding the visual to an existing presentation, choose Link to selection to get the visual's URL. After you've copied it, paste it into the Power BI PowerPoint add-in.
    • If you want to open a new presentation with the visual already loaded into the add-in, choose Open in PowerPoint.

    Screenshot of Power BI visual Share option.

  3. In the Embed live data in PowerPoint dialog that appears, choose Open in PowerPoint. This opens a new PowerPoint presentation with the visual already loaded into the add-in.

    Screenshot of Power BI visual copy link dialog.

    You can also just copy the URL then paste it into the Power BI PowerPoint add-in.

Paste the URL of a report or visual into the add-in

When you have the report or visual URL you need, paste it into the Power BI add-in in PowerPoint. This step isn't relevant if you chose Open in PowerPoint while in Power BI.

  1. Open PowerPoint and navigate to the slide where you want to add the report or visual.

  2. Select the Insert ribbon and choose the Power BI button.

    Screenshot of selecting the Power B I report add-in.

    Note

    If you don't see the Power BI button, choose Get Add-ins and look for "Microsoft Power BI" in the Office Add-ins store. If the add-in is admin managed, it will appear in a separate ribbon.

  3. Paste the URL into the text box and then select Insert. The report or visual will load into the slide.

    Note

    If you get a Cannot run Power BI error message, it is most likely because you need to install WebView2, a component necessary for running Power BI in PowerPoint. WebView2 is very simple and quick to install. See Troubleshoot the Power BI add-in for PowerPoint for details.

    The image below illustrates inserting the add-in into a slide and pasting in the URL.

    Screenshot of inserting the Power BI report page into the add-in.

    Once the report or visual has loaded, it's live and you can select the data as desired. Any changes you make while editing the presentation will be saved. The next time you open the presentation, the report or visual will appear in the state you last left it in. For more information, see View and present live Power BI data in PowerPoint.

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