Did you know there are multiple ways of displaying hyperlinks in a table/matrix visual?
When designing Power BI dashboards, user experience matters just as much as accurate data modeling. One of the often-overlooked features in Power BI consulting and implementation is how hyperlinks are displayed in tables and matrix visuals. Hyperlinks make your dashboards interactive, allowing users to open related reports, navigate websites, or drill down into different sections of the same report.
In this guide, we’ll explore the different ways to display hyperlinks in Power BI tables, including URLs, icons, and formatted text, along with their applications in real-world use cases such as financial dashboards, manufacturing analytics, retail performance reports, and SSRS migration projects.
Create a Hyperlink in Power BI Financial Dashboard
Did you know there are multiple ways of displaying hyperlinks in a table/matrix visual?
They can be displayed as the whole URL, an icon, or formatted into a text from another column. The hyperlink can be a URL to a website or to a page of another/same Power BI report.
For example, in a Power BI financial dashboard, hyperlinks can connect managers directly to supporting Excel files, SharePoint folders, or transaction-level drill-down pages. This makes navigation seamless and boosts report adoption across departments.
Create a Hyperlink in Power BI
You need to have a column in your dataset that contains a URL. Go to the URL column and format the Data category to Web URL. Here’s how it can be done:
- In Power BI Desktop’s Data view, select the column.
- On the Column tools tab, select Data category > Web URL.
Tip: If the URL column doesn’t exist, you can create a custom column and format it as a Web URL.
This approach is especially useful in retail analytics dashboards, where links to product pages or vendor catalogs can be embedded directly in the report.
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Create a Visual with the Hyperlink
In Report view, create a table or matrix with the field that you categorized as a Web URL. Here’s how it will look:
This is often used in manufacturing dashboards, where a hyperlink can open a machine’s maintenance log or external IoT monitoring system.
Display the Hyperlinks as an Icon
If you don’t want to display a long URL in a table, you can display an icon instead.
Steps:
- First, create a table with a hyperlink.
- Select the Format icon to open the Formatting tab.
- Expand Values > URL icon > turn it On.
This makes reports cleaner and more user-friendly. For instance, in executive scorecards, an icon can link to a detailed Power BI report without cluttering the main table view.
Request a Demo to see how hyperlink formatting can improve navigation in financial, retail, and manufacturing analytics.
Format the Texts to Have the Hyperlinks
If you want a text in one column to just have the hyperlink while displaying text, then you can do the following:
- In Data view, select the column that contains the URL.
- On the Column tools tab, select Data Category. Make sure the column is formatted as Uncategorized.
- In Report view, create a table with the column you’re going to format as link text.
- With the table selected, select the Format icon to open the Formatting tab.
- Expand Conditional formatting, making sure the name in the box is the column you want as link text. Locate Web URL, and turn it On.
In the Web URL dialog box, select the field that contains the URL in the Based on field box.
Now the text in that column is formatted as the link.
This is widely used in SSRS-to-Power BI migration projects, where businesses want report text labels to link to legacy reports or drill-through reports in Power BI Service.
Real-World Applications of Hyperlinks in Power BI
- Financial Reporting: Link rows in a profit & loss table to detailed transaction pages.
- Retail Analytics: Directly connect product SKUs in a sales report to online product pages.
- Manufacturing Dashboards: Navigate from KPIs to equipment logs or supply chain reports.
- Microsoft Fabric & SSRS Migration: Use hyperlinks to unify legacy systems and Power BI reports in hybrid data environments.
Talk to a Power BI Expert at Addend Analytics to optimize your reporting experience with DAX functions and advanced visuals.
FAQs on Displaying Hyperlinks in Power BI
Q1. Can I add a hyperlink in Power BI without having a URL column?
Yes. You can create a custom column using DAX or Power Query and then format it as a Web URL.
Q2. What is the best way to display hyperlinks in a professional Power BI report?
For business-facing reports, it’s best to use icons or formatted text instead of raw URLs to keep the dashboard clean and user-friendly.
Q3. Can hyperlinks open another Power BI report page?
Yes. Hyperlinks can point to a page within the same report or a completely different report hosted on the Power BI Service.
Q4. Do hyperlinks work in Power BI Mobile?
Yes. Hyperlinks work across Power BI Desktop, Service, and Mobile apps, though formatting may vary depending on the device.
Q5. Can I use hyperlinks with Row-Level Security (RLS)?
Yes, but ensure the URLs link only to data and pages the user is authorized to access.
Hyperlinks in Power BI tables and matrix visuals might seem like a small detail, but they play a powerful role in improving navigation, user adoption, and interactivity. Whether it’s connecting financial dashboards to transaction data, linking retail reports to product pages, or embedding drill-throughs in manufacturing dashboards, hyperlinks make your reports smarter and more user-friendly.
At Addend Analytics, a Microsoft Solutions Partner, we specialize in creating interactive Power BI dashboards, advanced DAX solutions, and enterprise analytics strategies. If you’re looking to improve your reporting or migrate from SSRS to Power BI, our team can help you build scalable, future-ready solutions.
Ready to make your Power BI dashboards more interactive? Contact us today for a free consultation.
