In this article, we'll show you how to display Microsoft Power BI reports and dashboards on your screens with OptiSigns, including rotating report pages, Kiosk Mode, and filters that target individual screens.
- What You'll Need
- How it Works
- Get your Report Ready in Power BI
- Add the Power BI App
- Connect to Microsoft
- Choose your report or dashboard
- Choose how the report plays
- Set the update interval and save
- Filter a report
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Troubleshooting
Put live Power BI reports and dashboards on any screen. OptiSigns signs in to Power BI through Microsoft's official APIs, keeps the report up to date, and can rotate through the report pages you pick or turn a report into a touch-screen kiosk.
NOTE |
| The Power BI app requires the OptiSigns Pro Plus plan or above. See pricing. |
What You'll Need
- An OptiSigns account on the Pro Plus plan or above.
- A screen set up and paired with OptiSigns.
- A published Power BI report or dashboard in the Power BI service (app.powerbi.com or Microsoft Fabric).
- A way to connect:
- Direct Login - A Microsoft account that can open the report in Power BI.
- Service Principal - An Azure app registration set up for Power BI. This needs the Pro Plus, Engage or Enterprise plan. See How to Set Up a Power BI Service Principal for Use with OptiSigns.
How It Works
You add a Power BI app to your assets, connect it to Microsoft, and choose a report or dashboard. OptiSigns shows it on your screens and checks for updated data on the interval you set. A report can play in one of three ways:
- One page - The report opens on its default page.
- Rotating pages - You pick which report pages to show and how long each one stays up. The screen cycles through them in order.
- Kiosk Mode - The report becomes a touch dashboard. Viewers tap to filter and switch pages themselves.
Dashboards have no pages, so they always show as a single view.
Preparing Your Report in Power BI
If you'll pick your report with Browse inside the OptiSigns portal, skip this step and follow from here. Otherwise, copy the report's URL.
Report in the Power BI service. Open the report in your browser and copy the URL from the address bar. Use the address bar URL, not a Share link.
Report from Power BI Desktop. Click Publish on the Home ribbon.
Choose the workspace to publish to.
When publishing finishes, click Open in Power BI.
Copy the URL of the report that opens.
Create a Power BI app
In the OptiSigns portal, go to Files/Assets and click Apps.
Search for Power BI and click the tile.
The Power BI app opens with four sections: Connect, Dashboard, Filters and Display.
Connect to Microsoft
Under Choose Authentication Method, pick Direct Login or Service Principal. In order to choose a Service Principal, you'll need to have set one up. See How to Set Up a Power BI Service Principal for Use in OptiSigns.
Direct Login
Click Sign in with Microsoft and sign in with an account that can open the report. When it works, the button reads Authorized with Microsoft as followed by your name.
NOTE |
| OptiSigns asks Microsoft only for read access to your reports, dashboards, workspaces and datasets. The first time anyone in your organization connects, a Microsoft admin may need to approve OptiSigns. |
Service Principal
A service principal lets screens keep showing reports without depending on one person's Microsoft account. Select Service Principal, then choose a saved connection from Select Service Principal Integration.
To add a connection here, open the picker and choose New Power BI connection. Only an account Owner, Super Admin, or Teamspace admin can add one.
You can also manage connections from Integrations → Power BI → Add Azure Service Principal.
Enter a Name, then the Application (client) ID, Application (client) Secret and Directory (tenant) ID from your Azure app registration, and click Add. For the Azure side of the setup, see How to Set Up a Power BI Service Principal for Use with OptiSigns.
Choose your Report or Dashboard
In the Dashboard section, click Browse next to Select report or Enter URL. Pick a workspace.
Then pick the report or dashboard, and click Select.
The URL fills in, and Name is filled in from the report's name. The name is what you'll see in your assets list, and you can change it.
You can paste the URL you copied in Step 1 into Select report or Enter URL instead. Links from app.powerbi.com and Microsoft Fabric both work.
Choose How the Report Plays
The Power BI app allows several options for how, exactly, the report plays. You can display single pages, or set rotation. You can also set your report to be displayed and optimized for Kiosks.
Rotate report pages
Under Select Pages, tick each page you want to show, and set how many seconds it stays on screen. The default is 60 seconds and the minimum is 30. You can select up to 20 pages, and the header shows the total time for one full rotation.
Leave every page unticked to show the report's default page only.
Kiosk Mode
Turn on Enable Kiosk Mode to make the report a touch dashboard, where viewers tap to filter and switch pages. Then choose where Power BI shows its page tabs under Page Tabs: Bottom or Left.
IMPORTANT |
| Screens that play a Kiosk Mode report need the Engage add-on. Kiosk Mode works with reports only, not dashboards, and it can't be combined with rotating pages. Unselect all pages to turn it on. |
Set the Update Interval and Save
Open Display and set Update Interval, which is how often, in seconds, the app checks for updated data. 600 seconds (or 10 minutes) is the fastest interval possible.
Click Save. Your Power BI app now appears in your assets. You can assign it to a screen directly, or add it to a Playlist or Schedule. Kiosk Mode reports go on a screen directly; they can't be playlist items.
NOTE |
| How well a report plays also depends on the device, its memory, and its network and firewall. If a report won't show on a screen, see the Troubleshooting questions at the end of the article. |
Filter a Report
Filters let one report show only the data a screen needs. For example, a sales report can show only the Central region.
Create a Filter
Open the Filters section and click Add Your First Filter.
Each filter needs a Table, a Column and a Value. To find them, open the report in Power BI and click Edit.
In the Data pane, each folder is a table and each field inside it is a column. Select a column to see its values in the Filters pane.
In this example, Manufacturer is the table, the Manufacturer field inside it is the column, and names like Abbas are values.
Enter the table, column and value in the filter. Here, the report shows only rows where Region in the Account table is Central.
Change Is to a different operator to match values another way. The options include Contains, Starts With, Greater Than and Is Blank.
Click + to add another condition to the same filter, then choose AND or OR under Condition Logic.
To filter on a different column, click Add New Filter.
Each filter gets its own row, numbered in order.
Target Individual Screens with One Filter (optional)
To make one Power BI app show different data on different screens, give each screen an attribute and use it as the filter value.
Open the screen, go to Edit Screen → Advanced → More, and click the wrench icon (Device Additional Attributes).
Click New Attribute.
Enter a key and a value, such as Location and Central, and click Update. Repeat for each screen with its own value.
In the Power BI app's filter, enter the key in double curly braces as the Value: {{Location}}. Each screen then fills in its own value.
For more about attributes, see Edit Screen — What does each option do.
Save and reuse filters (optional)
To reuse a set of filters in other Power BI apps, click Save Filter.
Give it a Filter Name and an optional Description, then click Save My Filters. Saved filters are available across your account.
To apply a saved filter, click Load Filter and choose it from the list. Each saved filter has an edit (pencil) and a delete (trash) icon.
Editing opens Edit Filter, where you can change the name, description and conditions. Click Update Filter to save. The changes apply everywhere the filter is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the most commonly asked questions we find with customers using Power BI on OptiSigns.
How does security work with the Power BI integration?
OptiSigns connects through Microsoft's official Power BI APIs and asks only for read access. With Direct Login, you sign in on Microsoft's own page, so OptiSigns never sees your password, and the access tokens it keeps are encrypted. A Microsoft admin may need to approve OptiSigns once for your organization. You can then manage OptiSigns in your Enterprise App settings in Azure.
Should I use Direct Login or a Service Principal?
Direct Login is the quickest to set up and works on any plan that includes the Power BI app. The report keeps playing only while that Microsoft account stays valid. A Service Principal isn't tied to a person, so it suits organizations that manage many screens. It needs the Pro Plus, Engage or Enterprise plan.
How do I make the report fit my screen?
In Power BI, open the report in Edit mode, go to View, and choose Fit to page. Then save the report.
For the best results, we recommend the OptiSigns Android Player.
My report shows in the portal but not on my screen.
This is usually a network issue, so check that the screen can reach Microsoft's Power BI sites. Samsung (SSSP) and LG (webOS) displays need a browser engine of Chromium 95 or later to show Power BI, which is a Microsoft requirement. If your display is older, the Android Player is a reliable alternative.
My report lags or crashes.
Large reports need more memory and processing power than many built-in TV players have. We recommend the OptiSigns Pro Player or ProMax Player for large reports.
Does this work with Power BI for US Government (GCC / GCC High)?
Not directly. Government-cloud Power BI URLs aren't supported by the Power BI app. As a workaround, display the report with the SharePoint app.
Troubleshooting
"Please enter a valid Power BI or Fabric URL".
The link must start with https://app.powerbi.com/ or https://app.fabric.microsoft.com/. Copy it from the browser address bar, or use Browse.
"This link doesn't point to a report or dashboard".
The URL is from Power BI but isn't a report or dashboard page, such as a workspace or app link. Open the report itself and copy that URL.
Browse is greyed out.
Connect first. Sign in with Microsoft, or select a service principal connection in Connect.
"Could not load workspaces".
The connected account or service principal can't list your workspaces. Sign in again with Direct Login. For a service principal, check that it has access to the workspace in Power BI.
"No pages found for this report".
The report didn't return any pages. Check that it opens in Power BI, then click Reload next to Select Pages.
"These pages are no longer in this report".
A page you selected was renamed or removed in Power BI. Untick it, or pick its replacement, and save.
Enable Kiosk Mode is greyed out.
Kiosk Mode works with reports only, and not while pages are selected. Untick every page under Select Pages.
"Ask a team admin to add a Power BI connection".
Only team admins can create service principal connections. Ask an admin to add one under Integrations → Power BI.
For more about publishing in Power BI, see Microsoft's guide Publish and share in Power BI.
That’s all!
OptiSigns is the leader in digital signage software. If you have any additional questions, concerns or any feedback about OptiSigns, feel free to reach out to our support team at support@optisigns.com.