I'm going to start this blog post with a very strong statement:
Bookmarks are the best thing since sliced bread!
Yes, I know some of you are not a fan of this incredible feature, but hopefully I can change your mind with this blog post.
I feel that for you to like bookmarks, you really need to know all the ins and outs of it, otherwise it can be quite overwhelming, specially if you have to create loads of bookmarks in the same report.
First, a little definition of what are bookmarks in Power BI:
Bookmarks save the current filters and slicers, cross-highlighted visuals, sort order, and so on.
Link to docs here.
So, in other words, creating a bookmark is like taking a screenshot of your report page, with all the visuals, filters selections, filtered visuals etc.
I think this is the easiest way to understand a bookmark, it’s like taking a screenshot, remember this and you will always know what bookmarks are!
However, when creating bookmarks, you have a few options available than can be a bit confusing sometimes.
When you create a new bookmark, all the below options are selected by default:
From the image above you can see you have the options separated into two sections, section A and section B.
You will always need at least one option selected in section A, and a single selection from section B.
Confused already? Let me simplify by explaining briefly what each of the options will do to your bookmark:
> Data
If you have any of the following applied in your report page, they will be saved in your bookmark: cross filtering between visuals, visuals sort order, visuals drill downs, filter/slicer selections.
> Display
If you have any hidden visuals in your report (you can hide/show visuals using the Selection pane), your definitions will be saved, meaning that any visible visuals will show, but any hidden visuals will stay hidden if you use the bookmark. If you have any visuals spotlighted, this will be saved with your bookmark.
> Current page
When selecting the bookmark (using a button for example), you will be taken to the page the bookmark was originally created on.
> All visuals Applies the previous definitions you selected (Data, Display) to all the visuals in the report page the bookmark was created on. In simple terms, you're taking a "screenshot" of your entire report page, all visuals.
> Selected visuals
Applies the above definitions (Data, Display) to selected visuals only (select the visuals using the selection pane when creating the bookmark). In simple terms, you're taking a "screenshot" of the visuals you selected only, not all the visuals in that page.
I know you’re confused already, with the examples it will get easier, bear with me!
I thought a lot about how to best explain all you can do with bookmarks, and I think the easiest option is to explain what each of the options do. If you know what each of the bookmark options do, you will be ready to mix and match those options to get the correct bookmark behavior.
As a curiosity, I decided to list all the bookmark options combinations that you can have:
Fourteen combinations???? (And I hope I’m not forgetting any!)
You probably noticed that some of them are red or blue. These are the ones that I don't find very useful because I rarely, if ever, use.
I hope you’re ready for what comes next, because after this, you will be the new bookmarks master!
Data option selected
If enabled, the bookmark will save:
> Filter/slicer selections (filter pane included)
> Visuals drill downs
> Visuals sort order
> Cross filtering between visuals
Variation 1: All Visuals
If enabled, whatever you do with filters, drill downs, sort order and crossfiltering will be saved in the bookmark for ALL VISUALS in that page.
Variation 2: Selected Visuals
If enabled, whatever you do with filters, drill downs, sort order and crossfiltering will be saved in the bookmark for SELECTED VISUALS in that page.
How do you select visuals you might be asking...
It's very simple, go to the Selection Pane and select only the visuals you want. How do you do that? Just use your CTRL key to select more than one visual! (You can also select visuals directly by clicking in the visual and using the CTRL key to multi select, but I prefer doing it in the Selection Pane because I can group visuals).
Your next question is probably "Why should I use the Selected Visuals" option?
Imagine the example report above. Now imagine you wanted to create a bookmark that would show the drill down view of the table, but you didn't want the slicer selections to also "reset" to whatever options you had when you created the bookmark.
In this case, instead of going for "All visuals", choose the option "Selected visuals" and select the table only.
This way, your "Screenshot" will be over that visual only, and not all the visuals in your report page.
Pro tip: if possible, group your visuals. If you group your visuals, you can select the group instead of having to select the visuals one by one.
Display option selected
If enabled, the bookmark will save:
> Visible visuals (visuals can be hidden/visible. You can change this using the selection pane)
> Visuals spotlight
Variation 1: All Visuals
If enabled, visible/hidden visuals and visual spotlights will be saved in the bookmark for ALL VISUALS in that page.
Variation 2: Selected Visuals
If enabled, visible/hidden visuals and visual spotlights will be saved in the bookmark for SELECTED VISUALS in that page.
Combination 1
This is the definition of a "screenshot" of all the visuals in your page!
“Data” Selected: if you have any of the following applied in your report page, they will be saved in your bookmark: cross filtering between visuals, visuals sort order, visuals drill downs, filter/slicer selections
“Display” selected: If you have any hidden visuals in your report (you can hide/show visuals using the Selection pane), your definitions will be saved, meaning that any visible visuals will show, but any hidden visuals will stay hidden if you use the bookmark. Also, if you have any visuals spotlighted, this will be saved with your bookmark
“Current page” selected: when the bookmark is selected e.g. on a button, the user will be redirected to the page the bookmark was originally created on
“All visuals” selected: applies the previous definitions you selected (Data, Display) to all the visuals in the report page the bookmark was created on
I would be careful using this bookmark combination. If you create a bookmark with these definitions selected, you will literally be taking a screenshot of your report page, exactly as it is, for all visuals.
This might be exactly what you want, but if you only need to apply the definitions to a few visuals in the page, I would use the next combination instead.
Combination 2
This is the definition of a "screenshot", but only for the visuals you want/select!
“Data” Selected: if you have any of the following applied in your report page, they will be saved in your bookmark: cross filtering between visuals, visuals sort order, visuals drill downs, filter/slicer selections
“Display” selected: If you have any hidden visuals in your report (you can hide/show visuals using the Selection pane), your definitions will be saved, meaning that any visible visuals will show, but any hidden visuals will stay hidden if you use the bookmark. Also, if you have any visuals spotlighted, this will be saved with your bookmark
“Current page” selected: when the bookmark is selected e.g. on a button, the user will be redirected to the page the bookmark was originally created on
“Selected visuals” selected: applies the previous definitions (Data, Display) only to the visuals you selected in the report page the bookmark was created on (visuals can be selected in the Selection Pane)
I think this combination is a lot better than the previous one, only for the fact that the definitions are applied only to the visuals you selected.
Most of the times, when I'm using bookmarks, I don't want the bookmark to take a screenshot of the entire page, only some visuals. For this scenario, this combination is ideal!
Combination 3, 4, 5,6,9,10
You probably noticed that all these combinations are marked in red. Well, there is a reason for that!
I've decided to get all these combinations together because, to be honest, I don't see a lot of use cases for them. I don't think I ever used these combinations, mainly because when you don't have the "Current Page" option selected, the user will NOT be redirected to the page the bookmark was originally created on, meaning he will stay in the same page, even if the bookmark was originally created in another page. In other words, if you did some drill downs, visual spotlight in some other page… well, it won’t really work.
Unless you have a very specific use case were you need to change a report page without actually navigating to that report page, I don't see any use for these combinations.
But please convince me otherwise, if you found a use case comment below as I'm still looking for it!
Combination 7 and 8
If I never used the previous combinations because I never found a use case for it, these ones… Well, never used them either!
These combinations don’t save your data selection options, your spotlighted visuals nor it does it save the hidden/visible visuals selections. Use case for this one? None I think…
You're better off just using the "Page Navigation" option when selecting the Action for your bookmark button as it basically does the same thing.
Combination 11
“Data” Selected: if you have any of the following applied in your report page, they will be saved in your bookmark: cross filtering between visuals, visuals sort order, visuals drill downs, filter/slicer selections
“Display” NOT selected: If you have any hidden visuals in your report (you can hide/show visuals using the Selection pane), your definitions will NOT be saved. Also, if you have any visuals spotlighted, this will NOT be saved with your bookmark
“Current page” selected: when the bookmark is selected e.g. on a button, the user will be redirected to the page the bookmark was originally created on
“All visuals” selected: applies the previous definitions you selected (Data, Display) to all the visuals in the report page the bookmark was created on
Combination 12
“Data” Selected: if you have any of the following applied in your report page, they will be saved in your bookmark: cross filtering between visuals, visuals sort order, visuals drill downs, filter/slicer selections
“Display” NOT selected: If you have any hidden visuals in your report (you can hide/show visuals using the Selection pane), your definitions will NOT be saved. Also, if you have any visuals spotlighted, this will NOT be saved with your bookmark.
“Current page” selected: when the bookmark is selected e.g. on a button, the user will be redirected to the page the bookmark was originally created on
“Selected visuals” selected: Applies the above options (Data) only to the selected visuals (they need to be selected using the selection pane)
Combination 13
“Data” NOT Selected: if you have any of the following applied in your report page, they will NOT be saved in your bookmark: cross filtering between visuals, visuals sort order, visuals drill downs, filter/slicer selections
“Display” selected: If you have any hidden visuals in your report (you can hide/show visuals using the Selection pane), your definitions will be saved. Also, if you have any visuals highlighted, this will be saved with your bookmark.
“Current page” selected: when the bookmark is selected e.g. on a button, the user will be redirected to the page the bookmark was originally created on
“All visuals” selected: applies the previous definitions you selected (Display) to all the visuals in the report page the bookmark was created on
Combination 14
“Data” NOT Selected: if you have any of the following applied in your report page, they will NOT be saved in your bookmark: cross filtering between visuals, visuals sort order, visuals drill downs, filter/slicer selections
“Display” selected: If you have any hidden visuals in your report (you can hide/show visuals using the Selection pane), your definitions will be saved. Also, if you have any visuals highlighted, this will be saved with your bookmark.
“Current page” selected: when the bookmark is selected e.g. on a button, the user will be redirected to the page the bookmark was originally created on
“Selected visuals” selected: Applies the above options (Display) only to the selected visuals (they can be selected using the selection pane)
Tip 1
Unless you really want the bookmark to affect all the visuals in the page, I would always choose the option "Selected Visuals" instead of "All Visuals"
Tip 2
Group your visuals in the Selection Pane! This will make your life so much easier specially if you have loads of bookmarks, believe me, this is the best trick for bookmarks ever!
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