Microsoft introduced five new capacity-related settings for Power BI earlier this month. Later, the data visualization service got changes to summarized data export behavior, while its desktop version got a bunch of new features as part of its August update.
In April, Power BI Paginated Report Builder was released, with the launch of a series of posts under the name "New Feature Friday". Now, marking the continuation of this series, support for URL parameters with paginated reports has been introduced to the service, while export formats for reports can now also be specified within URLs.
Essentially, report authors will now be able to send commands to paginated reports by adding parameters to URLs. Aside from simple inclusion with a paginated report URL, the URL can also be dynamically constructed and then passed to a paginated report via the drillthrough feature. With regards to the exact process of insertion, report parameters will require an rp: prefix to be set. As such, parameters can be specified within URLs through the following syntax:
rp:parameter=value
This is noted to be quite similar to how URL patterns work with SQL Server Reporting Services. In the aforementioned format, the parameter name is exactly the one specified by authors when they create the report parameter in Report Builder. As an example, if the "Salesperson" parameter is set, as shown in the image above, then the following URL needs to be used:
https://app.powerbi.com/groups/me/apps/xxxxxxx-c4c4-4217-afd9-3920a0d1e2b0/rdlreports/b1d5e659-639e-41d0-b733-05d2bca9853c?rp:Salesperson=Tiggee
In the case of multiple parameters being passed, an '&' symbol is to be used to specify the additional ones, as shown below:
https://app.powerbi.com/groups/me/rdlreports/xxxxxxx-abc7-40f0-b456-febzf9cdda4d?rp:Salesperson=Tie+Bear&rp:Salesperson=Mickey
As mentioned before, the export format of paginated reports can now also be mentioned in the URL. If this feature is utilized, clicking the report URL will result in the rendering and downloading of reports in the specified format without any additional interaction required. Setting the output format will require an rdl: prefix to be placed. Here's an example of how a report URL that will export the report in PDF format when clicked has been specified:
https://app.powerbi.com/groups/me/apps/xxxxxxx-c4c4-4217-afd9-3920a0d1e2b0/rdlreports/b1d5e659-639e-41d0-b733-05d2bca9853c?rp:Salesperson=Tiggee&rdl:format=PDF
Finally, as an extension to URL parameter passing, a new feature to make discovery of parameter names easier will be rolled out next week. By adding a "Generate Link" item in the File menu, users will be able to generate a link of the current report view, showcasing the parameter values that have been appended to the URL. You can check out the URL parameter adding capability's documentation to learn more about ways in which it can be utilized.
