Preparing Data for Paginated Reporting

Across this book, we have learned about a number of best practices on how to leverage Power BI to clean and prepare your data for analysis. In this chapter, we will delve into how we can take that knowledge in using Power BI Report Builder to connect, prepare, and report on data with paginated reports. Power BI Report Builder is a powerful authoring tool within the Microsoft Power BI suite designed for creating paginated reports. Unlike the traditional Power BI reports that are interactive and dynamic, paginated reports are highly formatted, pixel-perfect, and optimized for printing or generating PDFs. This part of the platform allows users to design and generate paginated reports with precision.

This introductory chapter will provide insight into how you should clean, prepare, and connect to your data if you wish to use that data for paginated reporting in the future.

Some of the key features of Report Builder include the following:

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Technical requirements

To follow along in this chapter, please ensure that you download and install Power BI Report Builder. You can get more details from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=58158.

Later in the chapter, we will connect to a published semantic model. As such, please ensure that you have published this semantic model to your Power BI web service: https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Data-Cleaning-with-Power-BI/blob/main/AdventureWorks%20Sales.pbix.

Ensure that you also download the following file to be used in the report: https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Data-Cleaning-with-Power-BI/blob/main/AdventureWorksLogo.jpg.

Understanding the importance of paginated reports

The importance of connecting, preparing, and analyzing data for paginated reports is vital for accuracy and consistency.

When bringing data into Power BI Report Builder, it’s essential to consider the following:

• Data accuracy and consistency: Ensure data sources are reliable to maintain accuracy and uniformity in reports
• Customization and user interaction: Utilize dynamic data sources and parameters for creating customizable reports with interactive features
• Compliance and formatting: Adhere to specific formatting requirements to meet regulatory obligations and mitigate risks
• Efficient communication: Use precise formatting options to facilitate effective communication of critical information within and outside the organization

When you first open Power BI Report Builder, you’ll immediately notice that, although there are some similarities to Power BI, it is for the most part vastly different...

Connecting to data sources within Power BI Report Builder

Power BI Report Builder offers a variety of data source options to meet the diverse needs of its users – whether that is connecting directly to the data source or connecting to a data source that has already been curated and published to the Power BI service. Here is an example screenshot of the connection types available when creating a data source with Power BI Report Builder:

Figure 13.2 – Data Source Properties showing connection types available

This includes the following connectors:

• SQL Server: Connect to Microsoft SQL Server databases, allowing users to pull in data directly from relational databases
• ODBC: Can be used to access data from Excel workbooks, enabling users to incorporate spreadsheet data into their paginated reports
• Power BI datasets: Connect to semantic models in Power BI to integrate published data into paginated reports
• Other databases: Power...

Data preparation

Now that we have connected to our data source, we are ready to begin preparing and creating datasets ready for our analysis. To do so, create a new dataset by right-clicking in the Report Data window and selecting Add Dataset.

This will open a new window labeled Dataset Properties (Figure 13.7). Here, we can select a table or write a query to define what data we want to include in the dataset:

Figure 13.7 – The Dataset Properties window in Power BI Report Builder

Before going ahead, let’s review what each property tab controls within the dataset.

Query

The Query section of Dataset Properties is responsible for defining the data source and specifying the query that retrieves data from that source. This is where users configure the connection details and write or generate DAX queries, MDX queries for multidimensional sources, or other query types, depending on the data source.

Here are the key components:

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Using filters and parameters

Filters and parameters play crucial roles in the creation of datasets for paginated reports in Power BI Report Builder. Their importance lies in enhancing interactivity, flexibility, and the ability to tailor reports to specific user needs. Let’s explore the significance of filters and parameters.

The use cases of filters are as follows:

• Date range filters: Filtering data based on a specific date range allows users to view information within a selected timeframe, supporting trend analysis or comparison over periods
• Category filters: Filters based on categories or other criteria enable users to drill down into specific segments of the data, providing a detailed view of particular subsets

The parameter use cases are as follows:

• Region parameter: For a sales report, a Region parameter can be created, allowing users to select a specific region to analyze sales performance for that region
• Top N parameter: A Top N parameter...

Using row groups/column groups

Row groups and column groups in paginated reports are essential features that provide a structured way to organize and present data. They play a crucial role in preparing and analyzing data for reporting.

Let’s explore how row groups and column groups help users in this process.

Organizing and structuring data

It’s important to understand why you should use row groups and column groups when creating reports in Power BI Report Builder. Let’s dive deeper into more information on why they are important and the use cases for them:

• Row groups:
  • Importance:
    • Hierarchical structure: Row groups allow users to create a hierarchical structure in the report based on the values in a specific column. This is particularly useful for representing data in a nested or grouped manner.
    • Logical organization: By grouping rows based on certain criteria (for example, category and date range), users can logically organize data, making it easier...

Summary

In this chapter, you were introduced to Power BI Report Builder to prepare your data for building paginated reports.

Your journey unfolded with insights into the significance of paginated reports, connecting to data sources, utilizing Query Designer, parameters, and filters. Navigating the user interface, you discovered the functionalities of Report Data, Parameters, Properties, and row groups and column groups as well as how to create parameterized fields to refine your dataset queries. Finally, using an example, you began building your report to aggregate and group data by the row groups you created when building the tablix.

This chapter served as just an introduction to the world of Power BI Report Builder and how you can prepare and report on data using paginated reports. I hope a key takeaway from this chapter is that, even if the data you’re working with is clean in your Power BI model or upstream databases, you will still need to do some level of data preparation...

Questions

1. What is the primary purpose of Power BI Report Builder in creating paginated reports?
   1. Dynamic and interactive reporting
   2. Pixel-perfect, highly formatted reporting
   3. Creating relational databases
   4. Multidimensional source connectivity
2. What role do row groups and column groups play in paginated reports?
   1. Enhancing user interactivity
   2. Structuring and organizing data
   3. Creating rich data visuals
   4. Facilitating data preparation
3. Why are filters and parameters important in paginated reporting?
   1. To add pixel-perfect formatting
   2. To enhance user experience and efficiency
   3. To create hierarchical structures
   4. To organize and present data
4. How does Power BI Report Builder contribute to meeting compliance standards in industries with stringent regulations?
   1. By providing versatile data source connectivity
   2. By creating rich data visuals
   3. By offering advanced expressions and calculations
   4. By generating paginated reports with precise formatting