Paginated reports are where precision, consistency, and control come together in the Power BI ecosystem. While interactive Power BI reports excel at exploration and discovery, paginated reports are built for operational and business-critical documents—reports that must print cleanly, export reliably, and display complete datasets without truncation.
For developers, paginated reports offer fine-grained control over layout, formatting, and logic. For managers and business leaders, they provide confidence that reporting outputs can be standardized, governed, scheduled, and distributed at scale through the Power BI service. This balance is what makes paginated reports a strategic capability, not just a technical one.
This article walks through how Power BI Report Builder supports robust report page layout design using RDL (Report Definition Language), and how thoughtful layout decisions lead to scalable, enterprise-ready reporting.
At its core, a paginated report is defined by an RDL file. An RDL is not a flat canvas; it is hierarchical by design:
This hierarchy matters. Properties set at the report level affect everything below it, while containers like headers, footers, and rectangles control how child elements behave. Once authors understand this structure, layout decisions become intentional instead of trial-and-error.
In Power BI Report Builder, headers and footers are optional sections added from the Insert ribbon. When enabled, they repeat on every page—making them ideal for:
You can also configure behavior such as excluding the header or footer on the first page, which is useful for cover pages or title sheets.
From a business perspective, headers and footers are essential for governance. They ensure that reports exported to PDF, Excel, or other export formats remain identifiable and compliant even when shared outside the Power BI service.
Before placing any objects on the canvas, successful report authors configure the report-level properties. This is where most layout issues are either prevented—or created.
Key properties include:
Paginated reports are unforgiving when it comes to layout math. The usable area of a page is determined by: Page size – Margins – Header and footer height (if enabled).
If the body or any contained item exceeds the available width, the report may generate blank pages when exported or printed. This is one of the most common frustrations for beginners—and one of the strongest arguments for creating a reusable layout template.
Report items are added from the Insert ribbon and are independent of data sources unless explicitly bound.
The most commonly used report item. A text box can display static text or dynamic values driven by expressions. It can contain multiple placeholders—similar to a mail merge—and supports rich text formatting.
Text boxes also support properties such as visibility, padding, borders, background color, and “CanGrow” behavior, which controls whether content expands vertically when values are long.
Images can be sourced from:
A best practice is to store shared assets like logos at a stable URL. When branding changes, reports automatically reflect the update without manual edits.
Lines are rarely required and are often replaced by text box borders. They can still be useful for specific visual separators but are typically the least-used item.
Rectangles are containers, not just shapes. They allow authors to group multiple items so they move and render together. This is especially useful in complex layouts.
However, rectangles require discipline. Invisible containers can cause confusion if forgotten, so naming and intentional use are critical.
Expressions are the foundation of intelligent paginated reports. Any property driven by logic must begin with an equals sign (=), similar to formulas in Excel.
Expressions are commonly used for:
While most properties can be dynamic, item position and report data source connections are fixed at design time. Dataset queries, however, can adapt based on parameters and expressions.
Power BI Report Builder provides built-in fields that simplify common requirements:
These fields improve clarity and trust, especially when reports are delivered via subscriptions to stakeholders.
Paginated report layouts in Power BI Report Builder reward intention and structure. When authors understand RDL hierarchy, set report properties correctly, and use headers, containers, and expressions deliberately, reports become predictable, scalable, and export-ready. For developers, this means fewer layout issues and less rework. For business leaders, it means consistent, governed reporting that can be confidently distributed through the Power BI service.
At brs, we can help you turn your data into insights with Power BI. Whether you are in oil and gas, mining, or manufacturing, our team can design and implement interactive reports or paginated reports tailored to your needs.
Your data is your most valuable asset — let us help you visualize it. Contact us today at info@bowriversolutions.com or visit www.bowriversolutions.com to start your data visualization journey.
This article is part of our Power BI Paginated Reports Series, a structured guide designed for both business leaders and report authors.
For C-level and senior decision-makers, the series explains how paginated reports support operational reporting, governance, scalability, and consistent decision-making across the organization. For analysts, developers, and power users, it provides practical insight into how paginated reports are designed, built, and refined using Power BI Report Builder.
Each article focuses on a specific stage of the paginated report lifecycle—from foundational concepts to advanced capabilities. You can explore the series in order or jump directly to related topics:
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View the full series: https://bowriversolutions.com/blog