I am looking to improve the user experience of my Power BI dashboard by adding buttons that users can click to navigate between pages or clear all filters at once. I see the "Button" option in the Insert tab, but I am struggling with how to actually link a specific action—like a bookmark or a page navigation—to the button itself. Can someone explain how to access the action settings and what the different types of available actions are for a standard button in the latest desktop version?
3 answers
To create an action button, first go to the Insert tab, select Buttons, and choose a type like "Blank" or a predefined icon. Once the button is on your canvas, you must select it to see the Format pane. Look for the Action toggle and switch it to On. Under the Type dropdown, you can select from options like Page navigation, Bookmark, Drill through, or even Web URL. For navigation, simply select the destination page from the "Destination" list. This is a foundational skill in Business Analysis because it allows you to build a cohesive narrative across multiple report pages without overwhelming the user with too many visuals on a single screen.
I managed to get the navigation working, but is there a way to make the button change color or show a tooltip when the user hovers over it? My users are complaining that it’s not obvious enough that the icons are clickable. I want to add some visual feedback to make the dashboard feel more like a professional application.
Don't forget that if you are testing these in Power BI Desktop, you have to hold the Ctrl key while clicking the button to trigger the action. It caught me off guard at first!
I agree with Jennifer, that is the number one thing that trips up beginners! Once you publish the report to the Power BI Service (the web version), your users won't need the Ctrl key anymore—it will work as a standard single-click interaction, which is much more intuitive for a Business Analysis end-user.
Steven, you can definitely do that using the "State" feature in the Format pane. Under the Style section, you’ll see a dropdown for State (Default, On hover, On press). Select "On hover" and then change the Fill color or Bold the text. This is a common UI/UX strategy in Software Development applied to BI reports. It provides immediate feedback to the user that an element is interactive. Also, you can find the "Tooltip" section under the same Action tab to write a custom message like "Click to view Regional Sales Data."