Drillthrough & Bookmark Navigation
Drillthrough and bookmarks are powerful features for creating interactive, app-like navigation experiences in Power BI reports.
Drillthrough (Recap & Advanced)
Drillthrough allows users to right-click a data point and navigate to a detailed page filtered to that specific item.
Cross-Report Drillthrough
Navigate from one report to an entirely different report:
Setup:
- In the source report: Enable cross-report drill-through
- File → Options → Report Settings → Check "Allow visuals to use drill-through targets from other reports"
- In the target report: Add drill-through filters as usual
- Both reports must be in the same Power BI workspace
- Users right-click → Drill through → Select the target report page
Keeping Filters in Drillthrough
By default, all active filters carry over to the drillthrough page. You can control this: • Keep all filters: Default behavior • Clear filters: In the drillthrough filter, enable "Keep all filters" toggle to Off • This ensures the detail page shows only the drillthrough-filtered data
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Bookmarks
Bookmarks capture the current state of a report page, including: • Filter and slicer selections • Visual visibility (shown/hidden) • Sort order • Drill state • Spotlight or focus mode settings
Creating a Bookmark
Steps:
- Set up the page exactly how you want it (filters, slicer selections, visual visibility)
- Go to View → Bookmarks → Click Add
- Name the bookmark descriptively (e.g., "East Region View", "Monthly Trend")
- The bookmark saves the current state
Bookmark Options
Right-click a bookmark to configure:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Data | Save/restore current filter and slicer state |
| Display | Save/restore visual visibility (show/hide) |
| Current Page | Save which page is active |
| Selected Visuals | Apply only to selected visuals, not all |
| Update | Update the bookmark with current state |
| Group | Organize bookmarks into named groups |
Linking Bookmarks to Buttons
Create interactive navigation by connecting buttons to bookmarks:
Steps:
- Insert → Buttons → Choose a button type
- Select the button → Format → Action → Toggle On
- Set Type to Bookmark
- Select the destination bookmark
- Customize button text, fill, and border
Use Cases for Bookmarks
1. Tab-Style Navigation: • Create bookmarks for each "tab" view (Sales, Marketing, Finance) • Show/hide different visual groups per bookmark • Link buttons styled as tabs to each bookmark
2. Toggle Between Charts: • Bookmark 1: Show bar chart (hide line chart) • Bookmark 2: Show line chart (hide bar chart) • Button toggles between the two views
3. Storytelling: • Create a sequence of bookmarks that tell a data story • Use the bookmark navigator for a presentation-style experience
4. Reset Filters: • Create a "Reset" bookmark with all slicers cleared • Link a "Clear Filters" button to this bookmark
Bookmark Navigator
Power BI can auto-generate a visual bookmark navigator:
- Insert → Navigator → Bookmark Navigator
- Automatically creates buttons for all bookmarks in a group
- Users click to switch between bookmarked views
Best Practices
• Name bookmarks clearly — "Q4 Sales View" not "Bookmark 1" • Use groups — organize bookmarks by purpose (Navigation, Views, Filters) • Test extensively — ensure all bookmark states restore correctly • Combine with drillthrough — drillthrough for detail, bookmarks for views • Use "Selected Visuals" when changing only a few visuals, not the entire page • Add a "Home/Reset" button — always provide a way to return to default state • Consider drillthrough for data-specific navigation and bookmarks for UI-state navigation