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10.3 Dashboards and Advanced Distribution

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Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst PL-300

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1 Introduction

About the PL-300 Exam The Power BI Ecosystem

2 Chapter 1: Get or Connect to Data

1.1 Data Source Types and Connections 1.2 Storage Modes: Import, DirectQuery, and Direct Lake 1.3 Data Source Settings and Parameters

3 Chapter 2: Profile and Clean the Data

2.1 Data Profiling in Power Query 2.2 Resolving Errors, Nulls, and Data Quality Issues 2.3 Data Types and Type Detection

4 Chapter 3: Transform and Load the Data

3.1 Column Transformations and Data Types 3.2 Grouping, Aggregating, Pivoting, and Unpivoting 3.3 Merge Queries, Append Queries, and Relationship Keys 3.4 Query Folding and Load Performance

5 Chapter 4: Design and Implement a Data Model

4.1 Star Schema Design 4.2 Relationships, Cardinality, and Cross-Filter Direction 4.3 Table and Column Properties 4.4 Calculated Columns and Calculated Tables

6 Chapter 5: Create Model Calculations with DAX

5.1 DAX Fundamentals and Measures 5.2 The CALCULATE Function 5.3 Time Intelligence Measures 5.4 Statistical Functions, Semi-Additive Measures, and Calculation Groups 5.5 Essential DAX Patterns and Functions Reference

7 Chapter 6: Optimize Model Performance

6.1 Performance Analyzer and DAX Query View 6.2 Model Size Reduction and Cardinality Management 6.3 DAX Optimization Patterns

8 Chapter 7: Create Reports

7.1 Visual Types and Selection 7.2 Visual Formatting and Conditional Formatting 7.3 Copilot in Power BI Reports 7.4 Report Page Configuration and Slicers

9 Chapter 8: Enhance Reports for Usability and Storytelling

8.1 Bookmarks, Navigation, and Drillthrough 8.2 Sorting, Selection Pane, Mobile Layout, and Accessibility 8.3 Export Settings and Automatic Page Refresh

10 Chapter 9: Identify Patterns and Trends

9.1 The Analyze Feature and AI Visuals 9.2 Using Copilot to Summarize the Semantic Model 9.3 Advanced Analytics Patterns

11 Chapter 10: Create and Manage Workspaces and Assets

10.1 Workspaces, Apps, and Content Distribution 10.2 Subscriptions, Alerts, and Semantic Model Refresh 10.3 Dashboards and Advanced Distribution

12 Chapter 11: Secure and Govern Power BI Items

11.1 Row-Level Security (RLS) 11.2 Sensitivity Labels, Item Access, and Governance 11.3 Deployment Pipelines and Content Lifecycle

10.3 Dashboards and Advanced Distribution

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

Dashboards are single-page canvases built only in the service by pinning tiles from reports, Q&A, Excel, and streaming data.

Clicking a tile pinned from a report navigates to the source report page with filter context; a tile with a custom link jumps to the configured destination.

Data alerts, the integrated Q&A box, and Feature on Home (default landing dashboard) are dashboard-only features not available on reports.

Publish to web creates a public, unauthenticated URL where RLS is NOT enforced - it must never be used for sensitive or internal data and requires admin enablement.

Distribute via apps (broad), sharing (targeted), subscriptions (automated), or embed in SharePoint/Teams; Power BI Pro allows 8 scheduled refreshes/day and Premium 48.

Last updated: June 2026

Quick Answer: Dashboards are single-page canvases in the service that pin tiles from many reports, Q&A, Excel, and streaming sources. Clicking a tile navigates to its source report with filter context. Dashboard-only features include data alerts , the integrated Q&A box, and Feature on Home . Distribute content through apps (broad), sharing (targeted), subscriptions (automated), and embed (external) — and use Publish to web only for genuinely public data because it needs no authentication.

Dashboard design

Good dashboards monitor a few key metrics at a glance: lead with KPI tiles at the top, keep roughly 5-10 tiles , align tile sizing, add text tiles as section headers, and set custom tile links so a tile can jump to a specific detail report or URL.

Tile types

  • Tile Source Use
  • Report visual Pinned from a report Most common — any visual
  • Live report page Whole page pinned Full interactivity in a tile
  • Q&A Natural-language result Quick ad-hoc answers
  • Web content HTML/iframe Embed external content
  • Image / Text box / Video Uploaded/typed/URL Branding, headers, training
  • Streaming data Real-time source IoT/live metrics tiles
  • Dashboard-only features

Data alerts on card/gauge/KPI tiles (threshold notifications) — not available on reports.

Q&A box at the top: type a question, get a visual, and pin it as a new tile.

Feature on Home (More options -> Feature on Home): sets the default landing dashboard for the workspace.

Tile click behavior

Clicking a tile that was pinned from a report navigates to the source report page with the relevant filter context, so consumers move from glance-level monitoring into full interactivity. (A tile with a custom link instead jumps to the URL/report you configured.)

Advanced distribution

SharePoint Online: Report -> Embed -> SharePoint Online , copy the URL, and add the Power BI web part to a page (viewers still need Power BI access and a license/Premium capacity). Microsoft Teams: add a Power BI tab to a channel and pick the report. Power BI REST API: automate refreshes, exports, permissioning, and CI/CD-style deployments.

Publish to web (public)

Report -> Embed report -> Publish to web (public) generates a public embed code and URL.

Warning: Publish to web is public and unauthenticated — anyone with the link can view and even reshare the data, and it can be indexed by search engines. Never use it for sensitive, confidential, or internal data; RLS is not enforced . A tenant admin must enable the feature, and it is blocked for content with sensitivity labels that prohibit it.

Dashboard vs. report: the full comparison

The single most-tested idea in this section is the dashboard/report distinction, so internalize the whole table:

  • Capability Dashboard Report
  • Pages One canvas Multiple pages
  • Built where Power BI Service only Desktop or Service
  • Data sources per item Tiles from many models/reports One semantic model
  • Slicers / filters No (tiles are static snapshots until clicked) Yes (full interactivity)
  • Drillthrough / bookmarks No Yes
  • Data alerts Yes (card/gauge/KPI tiles) No
  • Q&A Built-in box Q&A visual you insert
  • Subscriptions Yes Yes
  • Featured / landing Feature on Home No

The mental shortcut: a dashboard is a single-page monitoring wall that aggregates pinned tiles from across reports; a report is a multi-page interactive analysis bound to one model. Alerts and Feature-on-Home are dashboard-only; slicers, drillthrough, and bookmarks are report-only.

Distribution method decision guide

When a scenario asks "how should this be delivered," match audience to method:

  • Scenario Best method
  • Hundreds of read-only consumers org-wide App (on Premium/Fabric so free users can view)
  • A few colleagues co-authoring Workspace sharing with appropriate roles
  • One stakeholder needs a weekly PDF Subscription
  • Embed inside a Teams channel or SharePoint page Teams tab / SharePoint web part
  • Embed in a custom internal portal Embed (app-owns-data / user-owns-data) via the API
  • Truly public, non-sensitive data on the open web Publish to web
  • Publish to web: the security rule the exam hammers

Publish to web is the one feature where a wrong choice is a security incident. It produces a public, unauthenticated URL and embed code; anyone with the link sees the data, it can be indexed by search engines , RLS is not enforced , and consumers can reshare freely. It must be enabled by a tenant admin , is blocked for content carrying sensitivity labels that prohibit it, and should be used only for data intended for the general public. Any scenario involving internal, confidential, or PII data and "embed for external/anonymous viewers" must use secure embedding , not Publish to web.

On the exam

Expect: identify a dashboard-only capability (data alerts, Feature on Home) versus report features (slicers, drillthrough, bookmarks); predict tile-click behavior (navigate to source report with filter context); choose the distribution method that fits the audience; flag Publish to web as public/unauthenticated, RLS-not-enforced , and unsuitable for sensitive data; and recall the 8 (Pro) / 48 (Premium) scheduled-refresh limits that often appear alongside distribution questions.