Microsoft's updates to Power BI in the past few days include the introduction of app shortcuts for its Android version and the arrival of a more modern look for workspaces in the data analytics service. Now, a new capability to copy visuals in the form of an image has been brought to Power BI.
Essentially, this enables the copying of static images of any visual along with all its associated metadata. This includes the title and link of the report or dashboard where it was copied from, timestamp of when the data in the visual was last updated, applied filters, and whether or not it contains any confidential information.
The firm has clarified that the new feature is different from copying and pasting visualizations in a Power BI report. The latter allows the duplication of visuals only within the pages of the same report. In comparison, the newly introduced capability copies visuals to the clipboard, allowing for a variety of different use cases such as emailing them in the form of images, as showcased above.
To utilize the copying of visuals as images, users can either access the feature via "more options" in Power BI dashboard tiles or through the visual header in reports. This capability will be made available to all Power BI tenants by the end of this week. For those who have more questions regarding its finer details and limitations, a FAQ has been provided in the original post.
