Microsoft Power BI is one of the most powerful and popular data visualization tools on the web. With Power BI, users can create stunning dashboards and populate those dashboards with real time data. By combining Power BI dashboards with Screenly digital signs, teams can display key business metrics to the entire team on a central, easily-viewable digital sign. In the steps below, we detail how you can start displaying your Power BI dashboards on a Screenly digital sign in minutes.
Getting a public URL for your Power BI dashboard
To display a Power BI dashboard on a digital sign, your first step is to create an access URL to your dashboard. To do so, open your dashboard and click on the “File” dropdown. Next, click the “Publish to web” icon. If you are not an admin of your business’s Microsoft account, you may need to get admin access yourself or find your business’s admin user. You can find our more about sorting out admin access here.
Once you have admin access, you will see the “Embed in a public website” popup modal. Click the “Create embed code” option. Next, in the “Embed in a public website” popup, you will see a warning about how the dashboard will be viewable via a public link. Make sure that this is OK with your organization and then click “Publish.”
In the next popup that loads, you will see two boxes. You will see a “Link you can send in email” and a “HTML you can paste into your blog or website” box. Select the “Link you can send in email” option. This link will share a full-screen view of your Power BI dashboard. Only choose the link in the “HTML you can paste into your blog or website” if you have an advanced use case where you want to adjust the sizing of your dashboard.
Add your Power BI dashboard URL to your screen
Now that you have a public URL for your Power BI dashboard, the next step is to add the URL as content to your online Screenly account. To do so, login to your Screenly account here. Next, click the “Content” tab on the left-hand side of the screen. Once you are on the Content page, click the “+ New Content” button on the top right.
You will then see the “Add Content” popup modal. Click the “URL” tab, and add your public URL for your Power BI dashboard in the “Enter URL link” input box. Next, click the “Finish” button on the bottom right of the popup modal. After your URL link uploads to your account, you can then change the content title in the “Title” input box. To finish adding your Power BI dashboard link, click “Save” on the bottom right of the screen.
Next, you will then need to create a playlist and add your Power BI playlist to the screen. To learn more on this step, check out our video on how to create a playlist with Screenly. Once you have a playlist, you can add that playlist to a screen. For more information, see our videos on how to add a new screen and how to add content to your screen. Once you assign a playlist containing your Power BI dashboard to your screen, your Power BI dashboard will then display on your TV or monitor in minutes.
Getting started with Screenly
If you do not have a Screenly account already, you can get started with a 14-day free trial account. We do not require a credit card for a trial account. Take a look inside, add your Power BI dashboards, and set up your first screen with a digital signage player.
If you have any trouble getting your Power BI dashboard to display on your screen, contact Screenly Support at any time. We are always happy to help!
