Skip to main content

Power BI

Planned

Copy/paste the data behind the visual in Power BI to other applications

Vote (1448) Share
Mey Meenakshisundaram's profile image

Mey Meenakshisundaram on 11 Nov 2014 09:19:41

I can copy the visual either as image or data table and paste it in other applications.

Administrator on 10 Jul 2020 16:04:38

We recently released the ability to export data from tiles and visuals to a CSV file. This may work for y'all as a workaround until we add the ability to directly copy and paste the visual or data. You can read more about it here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/powerbi/archive/2016/01/06/power-bi-service-update-0106.aspx#exportTile. Be sure to let us know what you think about the feature!

Comments (127)
Mey Meenakshisundaram's profile image Profile Picture

102917df 6a55-44ad-b36b-f294673026df on 05 Jul 2020 22:46:36

RE: Copy/paste the data behind the visual in Power BI to other applications

A simple copy and paste from at least the table visualization should be prioritized; it is jarring for a user to not be able to do so.

Mey Meenakshisundaram's profile image Profile Picture

fd28395e c180-4ffd-aaa9-787b92976108 on 05 Jul 2020 22:44:36

RE: Copy/paste the data behind the visual in Power BI to other applications

At our company we really need this feature! It is super important for our employess to be able to quickly copy/paste the data of a visualization.

ETA?! :)

Mey Meenakshisundaram's profile image Profile Picture

4b66e9b5 4899-4f72-8804-8e8014720a70 on 05 Jul 2020 22:43:16

RE: Copy/paste the data behind the visual in Power BI to other applications

Yes, the table visuals specifically - would be extremely easy to get the data out by copy/paste vs exporting to csv. Often there is only one field needed.

Mey Meenakshisundaram's profile image Profile Picture

bfd1dc52 022c-40d5-a4ac-855ab0871616 on 05 Jul 2020 22:41:12

RE: Copy/paste the data behind the visual in Power BI to other applications

I use Q&A all the time for simple data search (e.g. phone number or ID of a certain user) and not being able to quickly copy the results is really frustrating. I don't want to be exporting the whole visual to CSV, when I only need to copy a value from one cell.

This is a big drawback that can act as a deal-breaker for many users/companies.

Mey Meenakshisundaram's profile image Profile Picture

64c34b23 c743-4058-9046-d5ab81e682bb on 05 Jul 2020 22:40:54

RE: Copy/paste the data behind the visual in Power BI to other applications

Users should be able to select and copy the text in all of the Visualizations. Exporting the data to CSV is too much friction and will reduce adoption for many scenarios.

Mey Meenakshisundaram's profile image Profile Picture

9a5dd329 e9ca-4d67-a9e8-956014d8845f on 05 Jul 2020 22:39:19

RE: Copy/paste the data behind the visual in Power BI to other applications

I agree with Scott Williams. There is no ellipses menu on a table visualization when it's viewed within a dashboard so cannot export data directly from a dashboard. The user needs to open the report but when s/he does so, all filters get lost.

Mey Meenakshisundaram's profile image Profile Picture

01ea3220 8fb3-43e2-9346-eab52a38f24a on 05 Jul 2020 22:37:32

RE: Copy/paste the data behind the visual in Power BI to other applications

Ditto... I work in data analysis and review reports on a weekly basis with our teams to identify and fix data discrepancies between systems. I can't tell you how many times I wish I could have just copied (ctrl C) a subset of records from a table in visualization and instant messaged it to a team member. It would be the quickest way for me to 'allocate' the work that needs to be done.

Mey Meenakshisundaram's profile image Profile Picture

f5cfe785 5618-4c67-b52e-a7934739f8de on 05 Jul 2020 22:37:26

RE: Copy/paste the data behind the visual in Power BI to other applications

I agree with a ton of the comments, so I'll just repeat what others have said so you that you know that I actually think this is important.

It is very frustrating to have to export all the data behind a visual just to get one or two data points--this really hurts adoption because my users get frustrated and eventually revert back to older less amazing tools like excel bc they are frustrated and more familiar with them but I'd even be fine if "copy" just pulled all the data CURRENTLY displayed in the visual....for example if i have a that shows contains 1,000 rows in total (if i actually scrolled to the bottom) but only 10 rows can be seen in the visual without scrolling then I'd be okay if copy pulled those 10 rows and ignored the other 990.

the current solution of exporting all the visuals data then saving it as a CSV file then opening that CSV file so that I can simply "copy" a single value in order to use it in a word doc or ppt or internet browser is not worth the effort

Mey Meenakshisundaram's profile image Profile Picture

f3e1b01f 3070-4425-ac37-d5bb6e4012ca on 05 Jul 2020 22:37:18

RE: Copy/paste the data behind the visual in Power BI to other applications

The workaround is unfeasible if we try to reach a folder path link displayed in a table. It takes way too many clicks to do such a simple task: dots - export data - export -save - open... Then you find the link that you want, copy and paste into windows explorer...

Mey Meenakshisundaram's profile image Profile Picture

c63cadbe 0316-e711-8103-5065f38a7b91 on 05 Jul 2020 22:36:08

RE: Copy/paste the data behind the visual in Power BI to other applications

We use Order or Quote Numbers in our reports where some work has to be done for completion. Copying the number out of a list to use it in another system would be great and satisfy the enduser by saving time. For only one word/number the CSV-Export is an overkill.