Power BI: Bookmarks & Selection Pane

Key insights

• Dynamic Visualization: Summary of a YouTube tutorial that shows how to make Power BI reports interactive by toggling visuals and views with clicks.
  It uses built-in features so you don’t need custom code or complex workarounds.
• How it works: Capture a page state with a Bookmark, control which visuals appear with the Selection Pane, and link a Button to that bookmark to switch views with one click.
  Repeat for each view, style the button, then test each action.
• Advantages: Let users switch perspectives without extra filters, save screen space by stacking visuals, and guide viewers through a clear data story.
  Bookmark switching also tends to be faster than repeatedly applying filters.
• Best practices: Name bookmarks clearly, include only the visuals you need in each bookmark, and add hover/pressed states to buttons for better user feedback.
  Keep a simple test checklist to confirm visuals, filters, and interactions behave as expected.
• Enhancements: Recent updates improve how bookmarks and the Selection Pane work together, allow more complex visual swaps in the same area, and offer up-to-date example files and tutorials for common patterns.
  These changes make advanced toggling and guided navigation easier to build and reuse.
• Use cases: Swap chart types, show drill-down detail in the same space, create step-by-step data narratives, or navigate report pages with a custom menu.
  Always test performance and user flow so the dashboard stays fast and intuitive.

Overview of the video and its author

Reza Rad (RADACAD) [MVP] presents a clear, hands-on YouTube video that explains how to build dynamic visualizations in Power BI using the combination of Bookmark, Buttons, and the Selection Pane. In the clip, he demonstrates practical steps and shows examples that highlight how these tools let report authors switch views, toggle visuals, and guide users through a data story. The video targets report authors who want interactive dashboards without writing custom code, and it supplements the broader blog content that covers the same technique. Consequently, viewers can follow along with an example PBIX and replicate the patterns in their own reports.

How the technique works in practice

First, Reza walks through creating distinct visual states, such as monthly or quarterly views, and then saving each state with a Bookmark. He explains how bookmarks capture the visible visuals, slicer settings, and layout positions so that clicking a linked Button returns the page to a saved state. Next, the video shows how to use the Selection Pane to control which visuals appear in each bookmark, enabling multiple visuals to share a single space and toggle on demand. Together, these elements let authors create a seamless interactive experience where one click changes the look and focus of a report page.

Practical benefits and common use cases

Reza emphasizes several practical advantages, including improved space utilization and an easier path for guiding users through sequential insights. For example, bookmark-driven navigation can let a single report page show an overview, a detailed drill-down, and a comparison chart without cluttering the canvas. Furthermore, styled buttons with hover effects can improve discoverability and give a professional feel that matches report branding. In addition, bookmark switching often performs faster than repeatedly applying multiple filters, which helps preserve a smooth user experience.

Tradeoffs and real challenges

However, the video also makes clear that choosing this approach involves tradeoffs between interactivity and maintainability. As reports grow more complex, managing dozens of bookmarks becomes harder, and authors must invest time in consistent naming conventions and documentation so others can maintain the report later. Moreover, bookmark states can drift if an author changes visuals or rearranges elements but forgets to update the corresponding bookmark, which creates confusing behavior for end users. Finally, accessibility and mobile responsiveness can pose challenges because visually overlapping elements and button-driven navigation may not translate well to screen readers or smaller screens.

Best practices, tips, and final thoughts

Reza recommends sensible practices such as clearly renaming bookmarks, selectively capturing only necessary items in each bookmark, and grouping related visuals to simplify the Selection Pane. He also advises testing button actions thoroughly, checking hover states, and verifying mobile layout to ensure the experience remains intuitive across devices. For more advanced needs, he suggests limiting the use of bookmarks to storytelling and navigation, while using native filters and slicers for ad-hoc data exploration to strike a balance between guided narratives and user freedom. Ultimately, the video demonstrates that with thoughtful design and careful maintenance, Bookmark Buttons paired with the Selection Pane can transform static pages into interactive and engaging dashboards without heavy scripting.

Conclusion and recommendation

In conclusion, the YouTube video by Reza Rad acts as a concise and practical guide for report authors who want to add dynamic visualization features to their Power BI reports. It offers a good mixture of step-by-step instruction and tactical advice while honestly acknowledging the complexity that can grow with larger projects. Therefore, authors should consider this technique when they need polished navigation or space-saving toggles, but they should also plan for long-term maintenance and accessibility testing. For editorial use, the video serves as a useful resource to show readers how to enhance interactivity while understanding the tradeoffs involved.

Keywords

Power BI dynamic visualization, Power BI bookmark button, Power BI selection pane, Power BI bookmarks tutorial, Interactive Power BI reports, Dynamic dashboards Power BI, Toggle visuals Power BI, Power BI view switching bookmarks