How to Add a Header in Power BI

A polished header can transform your Power BI report from a simple data dump into a professional, user-friendly dashboard. It provides context, reinforces your brand, and makes navigation intuitive for your audience. This guide provides a complete walkthrough of several methods for adding and customizing headers in Power BI, from basic shapes to dynamic, reusable templates.

Why a Good Header Matters in Power BI

Before jumping into the "how," let's quickly cover the "why." A well-designed header isn't just for decoration, it serves several practical purposes:

• Branding and Professionalism: A header featuring your company logo and color scheme instantly legitimizes the report and makes it feel like an official document.
• Title and Context: It clearly states the report's purpose (e.g., "Quarterly Sales Performance" or "Website Demographics Analysis"), so viewers know what they're looking at immediately.
• Navigation: An effective header can house buttons and links, allowing users to easily move between different pages of your report.
• Global Filters: You can place key filters, like a date range slicer, in the header so users can control the data for the entire report page from one central spot.

Think of it as the welcome mat for your report - it sets the tone and guides the user inside.

Method 1: The Building Blocks - Shapes and Text Boxes

The simplest and most common way to create a header is by combining a shape with a text box. This gives you full control over the size, color, and placement of your header components. It’s the foundational skill for every other method.

Step 1: Insert a Shape

First, we need a background for our header. A rectangle works best.

1. On the Power BI Desktop ribbon, click the Insert tab.
2. In the Elements section, click on Shapes.
3. Select the Rectangle shape. A blue rectangle will appear on your report canvas.

Drag the handles of the rectangle to resize it and position it at the top of your report page. Drag it corner to corner so it extends across the entire width of the page. You can adjust the height to make it thicker or thinner depending on your design preferences.

Step 2: Format Your Shape

With the new rectangle selected, the Format pane will appear on the right side of the screen. This is where you customize the look.

1. Expand the Style section in the Format pane.
2. Click on the Color dropdown to change the fill color. You can choose a theme color, a recent color, or click "More colors..." to enter a specific hex code for your brand.
3. To remove the default border, set the Border color to white or another color that matches your report background, or turn it off entirely by clicking the toggle.
4. For a small design flourish, you can expand the Shadow section and toggle it on to give your header a bit of depth.

Your goal here is to create a clean, solid bar at the top of your report that will serve as the foundation for your header's content.

Step 3: Add a Text Box for the Title

Now that you have the background, you need to add the report title.

1. Go back to the Insert tab.
2. In the Elements section, click Text box.
3. A new text box will appear on the canvas. Type your report title, for example, "Monthly Marketing Performance."
4. Drag this text box on top of the rectangle shape you just created.

Step 4: Format Your Text

Plain text won't cut it. With the text box selected, a formatting bar will appear.

• Change the font and size: Choose a clear, readable font that aligns with your brand. Increase the font size to make it a clear title (e.g., 20pt or larger).
• Adjust the color: Change the font color to stand out against your header background. White or a light gray often works well on dark headers, and vice-versa.
• Disable the background: In the Format pane on the right, go to Effects and turn off the background toggle for the text box. This makes the text box transparent so your shape's color shows through.

Pro Tip: Group Your Header Elements

Now you have a shape and a text box that are separate. If you need to move them, you have to move them one by one. To make them a single unit, you should group them.

1. Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard.
2. Click on the text box.
3. While still holding Ctrl, click on the rectangle shape. Both objects should now be selected.
4. Right-click on either of the selected objects.
5. Go to Group > Group.

Voila! Your shape and text box are now one single object that can be moved, resized, or copied and pasted to other pages together.

Method 2: Incorporate Branding with Images and Logos

Adding a company logo makes your report instantly recognizable and more professional. This method builds upon the shape/text box foundation from Method 1.

Step 1: Add Your Logo

Before you start, make sure you have a high-quality logo file. A PNG with a transparent background is usually the best choice, as it will sit cleanly on any colored background without an ugly white box around it.

1. Go to the Insert tab.
2. Click Image in the Elements section.
3. Navigate to your logo file on your computer and open it.

Your logo will appear on the canvas. Resize it and drag it into position inside your header, typically on the far left or far right.

Step 2: Adjust Layering

Sometimes your image might appear behind your header shape. You can control which objects sit on top of others.

1. Select the object you want to move (e.g., your logo).
2. Go to the Format tab that appears in the top ribbon when an object is selected.
3. Click Bring forward and then select Bring to front to ensure it's on top of all other elements. Similarly, you can use Send backward to move objects behind others.

You can now combine your logo, a background shape, and a text box title to create a fully branded, custom header.

Method 3: Enhance Functionality with Buttons

A truly great header is also functional. You can add buttons that help users navigate through the report’s different pages, transforming your header into an interactive navigation bar.

Step 1: Insert a Navigation Button

Power BI has built-in icons for navigation.

1. Go to the Insert tab.
2. Click Buttons and select a button type. The Left arrow or Right arrow are great for moving between pages, while the Navigator > Page navigator option can automatically create a button for every page in your report.
3. Alternatively, you can choose Blank to create a custom button with your own text or icon.
4. Place the button within your header where it makes sense intuitively.

Step 2: Configure the Button's Action

A button doesn't do anything until you tell it what to do.

1. Select the button you just added.
2. In the Format pane, toggle the Action setting to On.
3. Expand the Action section.
4. For the Type, choose an action. For page navigation, you'd select Page navigation.
5. In the Destination dropdown, select which report page the button should take the user to when clicked.

You can add multiple buttons for different pages, a "Home" button, or even a button that links to an external URL like your company website.

Method 4: Create a Reusable Template for Efficiency

If you create reports often, rebuilding your header on every new file is a huge waste of time. Instead, you can create a Power BI Template (.pbit file). This saves your report's entire design - including your perfect header, color scheme, and logos - without the data.

Step 1: Build Your Perfect Header

Open a new, blank Power BI Desktop file. Using the methods above, create your ideal, universally applicable header. This should include your company logo, a placeholder text box for the "Report Title," and any standard navigation buttons you want on all reports.

Step 2: Set Up a Theme

To make your template even more powerful, set up your brand's color theme.

1. Go to the View tab.
2. In the Themes section, click the dropdown arrow.
3. Select Customize current theme. Here you can set up your brand's primary and secondary colors, specify font styles, and more.
4. Click Apply when finished.

Now, any new visuals you add will automatically use your brand's colors.

Step 3: Save as a Template

Once your header and theme are ready, it's time to save it as a template.

1. Click File in the top-left corner.
2. Go to Export.
3. Select Power BI template.
4. Give your template a description (e.g., "Standard Company-Branded Report Template") and a file name, then save it.

Step 4: Use Your Template for New Reports

The next time you need to create a new report, just double-click your newly created .pbit file. It will open as a new, untitled Power BI project with your header, logo, and theme already in place. All you have to do is connect your data sources and start building your visuals.

Final Thoughts

Creating a header in Power BI is a fundamental step in building clear, professional, and easy-to-use reports. By combining shapes, text, images, and buttons, you can design a header that not only looks great but also improves the overall user experience and reinforces your brand's identity.

Of course, building all these reports by hand, even with time-savers like templates, can still feel repetitive, especially when you’re pulling data from multiple sources. We designed Graphed to eliminate this manual work entirely. Our approach allows you to connect all your data sources and use simple, conversational language to have entire dashboards and reports built for you instantly, without ever having to drag and drop a single shape or text box.