Do you want to add a help button to your Power BI report? You don’t need to look further, as I’ll walk you through how to add a help button in Power BI in this article.

Power BI emerges in data visualization, but it lacks built-in help buttons. Effective data communication extends beyond visuals; providing users with the appropriate context may greatly improve their experience.

In this article, I’ll show you two methods with step-by-step instructions on how to add this special feature to your report and provide users with a better knowledge of how they can use it.

What is a Help Button in Power BI?

A help button in Power BI is a visual element that provides users with clarity or assistance about specific visuals of a report. A help button is also known as an info button. It is often represented by a question mark “?” or the letter “i.”  It can be placed next to specific visuals or the entire report. It unlocks a secret room within the report.

Imagine a Power BI report as a complex map. You’re trying to navigate it, but some areas might be unfamiliar or confusing. A help button is like a friendly guide that helps you understand these areas better.

Scenarios to Add Help Button in Power BI

1. Explaining complex visuals: Help buttons for complex charts can provide in-depth definitions of words or visual clues to facilitate understanding.
2. Providing tutorials or walkthroughs: Help buttons can connect to tutorials or walkthroughs that lead users through a process, whether they are new to the site or experienced with a particular feature.

3. Offering troubleshooting guidance: Help buttons can guide users to pertinent resources or offer troubleshooting tips if they encounter problems.
4. Improving accessibility: Help buttons can include audio descriptions of images or alternate text for users with visual impairments.

📝 Note: In this article, two help buttons were designed in Microsoft PowerPoint.

1. Closed help button       
2. Opened help button

1. Closed Help Button: This refers to a button that is visible on the report’s surface; with a distinct color or a color that attracts attention. When clicked, it might open a tooltip, pop-up window, or other interactive element that provides additional information, context, or assistance.

2. Opened Help Button: This refers to a button that is not directly visible on the report but is activated behind the scenes. It might be triggered by specific actions or conditions, such as hovering over a data point or selecting a filter. This “opened” help might appear as a tooltip, a contextual menu, or other dynamic element.

How to Add Help Button in Power BI Using Bookmarks

One versatile way to incorporate interactive components into your reports is with Power BI bookmarks. Linking bookmarks to buttons or other visual elements allows you to give users additional context, instructions, or information.

1. Import the two help buttons: Go to the Insert tab and select the Image option. It takes you to where your images are located in your computer folder.

2. Resize the help buttons: Go to the Format pane on the right-hand side of Power BI and expand the General option. Please make sure you resize the help button to your choice.

3. Position buttons: Place the opened help button above the closed help button.

4. Setup options: Click on bookmark and selection options under the view tab.

5. Rename buttons: On the Selection pane, we have the buttons named Image; ensure to rename each of the help buttons. Double-click to rename; the first image is the opened help button, and the second is the closed help button.

6. Set up Bookmarks: In the Bookmark pane, click on the add option. After clicking on Add, it adds a bookmark, named “Bookmark 1.”

7. Rename Bookmark: It is important to rename, double-click, and give the bookmark a name of your choice.

8. Then, in the Selection Pane, make the closed help button visible and hide the opened help button.

9. Go to the bookmark, add, and rename the second bookmark.

10. It is time to add actions to the help buttons; click the closed help button, go to the format image pane and image, and then toggle the Action button on. Expand the Action option, in the Type option, select Bookmark, and then for the Bookmark, select Help. For the tooltip, you can type, “Click for help.”

11. When you click on the button, it takes you to the opened help button; if you notice, we haven’t added any action to it. Now let us add action to it: In the Format image pane at the right side of your Power BI, go to Image and toggle the Action button on. In the Type option, select Bookmarks, and then for the Bookmark, select No help selected.

This is the outcome of the steps above. As you can see, there’s a big help button in the top right corner of your report. Now it’s time to add help buttons to each visual. Let’s do this!

1. Import the closed help button and place it on each visual.

2. Go to the View tab and click on both Selection and Bookmarks.

3. In the Selection pane, identify the help buttons labeled Image. Rename each button by double-clicking and changing it to an appropriate name that reflects its visual.

4. After renaming, hold the Ctrl key while clicking on each help button to select them. Now right-click on the selected buttons, choose Group, and then select Group.

5. Rename the newly created help button group folder.

6. Import the opened help button, adjust its size, and place it above the closed help button in the visual.

7. In the Selection pane, change the name of the opened help button to something relevant to the visual (e.g., “ship mode opened help button”).

8. Drag and drop it in the help buttons folder. Make sure to place it next to the closed help button.

9. Go to the Insert tab and click on the Text box icon.

10. Type or paste the desired help text into the text box.

11. In the Bookmark pane, click on Add.

12. Rename it to the related visual you want to add the help button to.

13. In the selection pane, move the Help text into the folder and place it close to the buttons.

14. Then hide the Help text box and the ship mode opened button.

15. Go to the bookmark pane, right-click on the help selected, and choose Update.

16. In the selection pane, hide the visuals and then go to the Bookmarks pane, right-click, and choose Update.

17. Add actions to your buttons: Go to your Format image pane, toggle on the Action button, expand it, and in the Type option, select Bookmark; for the bookmark option, select ship mode help selected. For the tooltip, insert what is aggregated in the visual. For example, “sum of sales by ship mode in percentage.”

18. Go to your Bookmarks pane and view your bookmarks if it corresponds with your visual. Now, notice when we clicked on the Ship mode help selected bookmark, the other button showed, but no action was wired in the button.

19. Select the button and then go to the format image pane, image, and then toggle Action on and expand it. Select bookmark for the Type option, and for the Bookmark option select Help selected.

You have successfully created a help button for your Power BI report. You can perform the same steps for other visuals to which you would like to add the help button. Test the help buttons in your report.

How to Add Help Buttons Using the Page Navigation

In Power BI, page navigation is an effective method for creating dynamic and educational reports. By strategically placing help buttons on different pages and linking them to relevant help content, you can provide users with immediate access to guidance and assistance

1. Duplicate report page: Right–click and duplicate report page.

2. Rename the duplicated page and hide the page.

3. Delete all visuals on the report page except for visuals you are interested in to add the help button.

4. Delete the current help button on the visual, then add the text box, and insert the help information on the text box.

5. Insert the opened help button image: Go to the Insert tab and select Image.

6. Choose the image from your local computer file. Resize the image and then place it on the right-hand side of the visual.

7. Set up Action: Click on the button, and then Go to the Format pane located at the right-hand side of your Power BI. Toggle the Action Option On, and then Expand it: For the Type option, select the Page navigation, for Destination, select the title of the page of the original report.

8. Go back to the original report page: After setting up Action to your button, press the CTRL key and click on your mouse; it takes you back to the first page.

9. Add Action: Now on the original report page, click on the button of the visual, then go to the Format Image pane, toggle the Action option on, and then expand it: In the Type box, Select Page Navigation, for destination, select the title of the duplicated page where the visual is located.

You can also add a tooltip if you wish.

10. Now, you can test the help buttons.

Best Practices in Adding Help Buttons in Power BI

1. Keep it brief: Information on help buttons should be brief and easy to understand. Don’t overwhelm users with lengthy or intricate explanations.
2. Speak in plain, uncomplicated terms; stay away from technical jargon. Make sure your terminology is understandable to a broad spectrum of people.
3. Use consistent formatting: To enhance readability and usability, keep your help buttons and text formatted and styled consistently.

4. Test and refine: To get feedback and make changes, test your help buttons on a range of users.

5. Make use of proper placement: Arrange help buttons so that users can find them most useful. Refrain from packing your report with pointless buttons.

Conclusion

In conclusion, adding help buttons to Power BI reports empowers users with context-specific guidance, leading to an enhanced and more intuitive experience. 

We have been able to look at two methods of adding help buttons in Power BI: Bookmarks and Page navigation. While bookmarks allow users to navigate directly to the desired information, providing a more interactive experience, they can also make a report cluttered if there are too many bookmarks. On the other hand, page navigation allows you to design and format help pages independently, but users may need to navigate between pages to access help content, which could slow down the user experience. Adding help buttons to Power BI reports empowers users with context-specific guidance, leading to an enhanced and more intuitive experience.

Also, designing help buttons is not exclusive to Power BI. Other tools, such as PowerPoint, Adobe Photoshop, Figma, and so on. 

Remember, well-designed help buttons can transform your Power BI reports from static visualizations into interactive and informative tools.