PowerBi Extra is a tool or feature designed to enhance the data visualization capabilities in the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central software environment. Its primary function is to enable users to access and display a comprehensive set of data visualizations, often comprising various charts, graphs, and reports, all from within the Business Central platform.

This enhancement is particularly valuable because it simplifies accessing and analyzing data. Instead of switching between different applications or tools to view multiple visualizations, users can remain within the familiar Business Central interface. By providing a full display of these visualizations, PowerBi Extra offers a more holistic and efficient way for users to gain insights from their data.

In practical terms, this means that users can quickly access and interact with diverse data representations, aiding in decision-making, trend analysis, and data-driven actions directly within the Business Central environment. This streamlines workflows saves time, and enhances the user experience for those working with complex data sets or business intelligence needs.

PowerBI Extra is currently available on Cloud, Software As A Service (SAAS) only.

Availability of PowerBi Extra Functionality

PowerBi Extra can be found on many pages (as listed in the below screenshots). It can be seen on List Pages and even Card Pages. The availability of this add-on is seen within the Factbox Pane, Details section.

If the above section does not appear under the PowerBi header, the functionality is not available on the page. It is important that the user acquires the PowerBi Licence to obtain this functionality.

By analysing and retrieving data from Business Central pages, the add-on transforms it into an easy-to-understand graph. Whether the add-on is available on sales orders, bank accounts, assets and item pages users can spot trends, patterns, and anomalies that might go unnoticed when viewing the entire page. Therefore it gives the user a quick overview of the page in a very concise manner.

Below are the pages where the PowerBi Extra add-on is available when enabled:

Adding a PowerBi Report

Users can add a new report by clicking on the ‘Select reports’ hyperlink. This in turn directs the user to a modal to choose the desired PowerBi Report.

From here the user chooses the report and the add-on immediately sets up the graph or other graphical data to the corresponding page.

In this case according to the Bank Account the user is on the appropriate information is shown.

If then the user enters the Bank Account Card, different data is visible.

Copying Image

When hovering over the PowerBi add-on the user can copy the image with the caption included by clicking on the below icon:

Filtering Data

The user can also filter the visible data by clicking on the below icon:

Focus Mode

The user also has the ability to focus on the entire graph by clicking on the below icon

To go back to the original data representation the ‘Back to report’ button must be clicked.

Choosing another Report

If for some reason the user previously chose an incorrect report to display on screen, it can be changed by clicking on the PowerBi heading, which will show multiple options. Then the first option 'Select Report’ must be chosen and the same process as mentioned before must be followed.

Expanding the Report

If the user wishes to further expand and and view the graph of relevant information at a bigger scale, the user must once more click on the PowerBi heading and choose ‘Expand Report’ option.

The user can wish to scroll left and right to view other parts of the data shown. Filtering is also possible in this view.