How to Export Power BI to PowerPoint

Trying to get a Power BI dashboard into a PowerPoint slide can feel like a surprisingly difficult task. You've built a beautiful, interactive report, but now you need to share those key insights in a presentation. This article will show you exactly how to export your Power BI reports to PowerPoint, covering both static image exports and embedding live, interactive data directly into your slides.

Why Export Power BI to PowerPoint?

Before jumping into the "how," it helps to understand the "why." You might need to move your data from a dynamic dashboard into a static presentation for several common reasons:

• Executive Summaries: Your leadership team needs a high-level briefing. A simplified PowerPoint deck with key visuals is often more effective than a complex, interactive dashboard.
• Offline Presentations: You don't always have a reliable internet connection. Exporting your visuals as images ensures your presentation will go off without a hitch, regardless of the Wi-Fi situation.
• Static Reporting: Monthly or quarterly reports often require a snapshot of performance at a specific point in time. An exported file provides a permanent record that won't change as new data comes in.
• Wider Distribution: Not everyone in your organization has a Power BI license or knows how to use it. A PowerPoint file is a universal format that almost anyone can open and view.

Understanding your goal will help you choose the best method for getting your visuals from Power BI into your slide deck.

The Direct Export Method: Creating Static Images

The quickest way to get your Power BI report into PowerPoint is to export it as a series of static images. Each page of your report will become a separate high-resolution image on its own slide. This method is perfect for when you need a snapshot of your data for offline viewing or a formal report.

Step-by-Step Guide to Exporting as Images

Follow these simple steps from within the Power BI service (the online version, not the Desktop app).

1. Open Your Power BI Report

Navigate to the Power BI service (app.powerbi.com), sign in, and open the report you want to export. Make sure you're in the report view, not the dashboard or workspace home.

2. Find the Export Option

In the top menu bar, click on File, then hover over Export in the dropdown menu. You will see several options here.

3. Select "Export to PowerPoint"

A new option will appear. Click on Export to PowerPoint. A pop-up window will appear, giving you a few choices for how the data is exported.

4. Choose Your Export Options

You'll be presented with a critical choice:

• Current values: This option exports the report in its current state, including any filters, slicers, or drill-downs you have applied. This is what you'll want to choose most of the time, as it captures the specific view you've prepared.
• Default values: This option ignores all your active filters and slicers and exports the report in its original, published state. This can be useful if you've been exploring the data and want to revert to the default overview for your presentation.

You can also check a box to "Only export current page" if you don't need the entire multi-page report. Once you've made your selection, click the blue Export button.

5. Download and Open the File

Power BI will begin processing the export in the background. This can take a few minutes for large or complex reports. You'll see a notification in the top-right corner when it's ready. A download will start automatically, and you'll have a .pptx file ready to open.

What to Expect with This Method

When you open the PowerPoint file, you’ll find a clean, professional presentation.

• Each Power BI report page is on its own slide as a single, high-resolution image.
• A title slide is automatically generated, including the name of the report and a link back to the original version in the Power BI service.
• A final slide is included with information about the last data refresh and when the export was created.

The Pros: It's simple, fast, and works flawlessly offline.

The Cons: The exported visuals are just images. They are not interactive, you cannot click on them, they have no tooltips, and you cannot edit the charts' data or formatting in PowerPoint.

For Live Data: Using the Power BI Add-in for PowerPoint

What if you want the full interactive experience of your Power BI report right inside your presentation? For that, you’ll need to use the official Microsoft Power BI storytelling add-in for PowerPoint. This allows you to embed live, filterable visuals directly onto your slides.

Why Use the Add-in?

The static image export is convenient, but the add-in is a game-changer for data-driven presentations.

• Interactive Storytelling: You can apply filters and slicers in real-time during your presentation to answer questions from the audience on the fly.
• Always-Current Data: The embedded report pulls live data from the Power BI service. If your dataset refreshes five minutes before your presentation, your slides will automatically show the latest numbers.
• Drill-Down Capability: Focus on a specific data point and then drill down into the details without ever leaving PowerPoint.

How to Install the Power BI Add-in

Before you can embed a report, you first need to add the Power BI tool to your PowerPoint ribbon. This is a one-time setup.

1. In the PowerPoint desktop app, go to the Insert tab.
2. In the "Add-ins" section, click on Get Add-ins.
3. In the Office Add-ins store, search for "Microsoft Power BI".
4. When it appears, click the Add button to install it.

After installing, you'll see a new Power BI logo icon in your Insert tab. You're now ready to embed reports.

How to Embed Your Power BI Report

Bringing a live report into your slide is a straightforward copy-and-paste process.

1. Copy the Report Link from Power BI: Go to the Power BI service and open the report you want to embed. You don't need the URL from your browser's address bar. Instead, go to File > Export > PowerPoint. You'll see two options: Embed an image and Embed live data. Click on Embed live data. A pop-up will appear with a URL – click the "Copy" button to grab this special link.
2. Insert the Add-in on Your Slide: In PowerPoint, go to the slide where you want the report. Click the Power BI icon from the Insert tab. This will place a big black box on your slide with a field to paste your URL.
3. Paste the Link: Paste the URL you copied from the Power BI service into the field provided and click the Insert button.
4. Sign In and Present: If you're not already logged in, you'll be prompted to sign in to your Microsoft account. In a few moments, your live Power BI report page will load directly onto the slide. You can now resize it and interact with it just as you would in the browser.

You can even paste the link for a single visual instead of a full page, allowing you to build more focused slides around one key chart.

Tips for a Better Presentation

• Frame Your Story: Don't just drop an entire dashboard onto a slide and call it a day. Embed individual visuals and use PowerPoint's text boxes to add titles, callouts, and summaries that tell the story behind the data.
• Verify Permissions: For the live data add-in to work, anyone viewing the presentation needs to have permission to view the report in Power BI. If your audience doesn't have a license or access, they'll see an error message instead of your visual.
• Use the Image Thumbnail: The add-in has a feature that shows a static image of the report until a user clicks "Play" to load the live data. This is great for an initial view that loads instantly and keeps the presentation file size smaller.
• Don't Overload a Slide: The purpose of a presentation is to simplify complex information. Rather than embedding a crowded report page, consider breaking it up. Create separate slides with individual charts to guide your audience through your findings one point at a time.

Common Problems and Troubleshooting

• The 'Export' option is grayed out: This usually means your Power BI tenant administrator has disabled exporting to PowerPoint. You’ll have to contact your IT or data analytics team to request they enable it.
• Embedded report shows a permissions error: Remember, viewers need access to both the PowerPoint file and the underlying Power BI report. Before sharing your deck, be sure you've shared the report with them in the Power BI service.
• Custom visuals aren't exporting correctly: While most certified custom visuals work fine, some from the marketplace may not render correctly in a static export. When possible, stick to standard Power BI visuals for reports you plan to export regularly.

Final Thoughts

Whether you need a quick static image for an offline report or a fully interactive dashboard embedded in your presentation, Power BI provides robust tools to get the job done. The direct Export to PowerPoint is great for snapshots, while the add-in empowers dynamic, data-driven storytelling right in your slides. Mastering both methods will significantly improve how you share insights with your team.

Constantly switching between platforms and worrying about manual exports can take the focus away from a more important job: finding insights. That's why we created Graphed. We connect directly to your data sources like Google Analytics, Shopify, and Salesforce and use AI to build dashboards in seconds. Just describe what you need in plain English, and our tool generates live, interactive reports you can share with anyone, simplifying the whole process and giving you back time to focus on strategy.