Introduction to Canvas Sizing in Power BI

The canvas size, or the area available for placing visuals on a Power BI report, plays a crucial role in how information is displayed and consumed. Proper sizing helps maintain consistency, enhances readability, and optimizes the user experience.

By configuring canvas settings first, you can effectively plan your layout, avoid unnecessary adjustments later, and create a professional and polished report right from the start. However, selecting an appropriate canvas size can be challenging due to the static nature of Power BI’s design environment and the absence of features like dynamic sizing or breakpoints that are common in web design.

In Power BI, the canvas size is fixed, meaning once set, it does not automatically adjust to the viewer’s screen size. This static setup poses unique challenges, especially when reports are viewed on different devices with varying screen resolutions. For instance, a report designed on a large desktop monitor might not look the same on a smaller laptop screen or a tablet, potentially leading to cropped visuals or a need to scroll, which can detract from the user experience. In the following sections we'll discuss how we can overcome these challenges with view settings and recommend some tips for choosing the right canvas size.

Tips for Choosing the Right Canvas Size

Designing in Power BI is fundamentally no different from designing in other digital tools. The primary goal remains the same: to create visually appealing, functional, and user-friendly reports. When considering the canvas size for reports viewed on computers, the task becomes straightforward by adhering to established best practices used by designers across various fields. Let's assume we are creating reports and dashboards for laptop and desktop screens and not designing for print or mobile experiences.

When designing reports for computer screens, we can simplify the process by leveraging the wealth of knowledge and best practices from the design community. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel; instead, we can adopt tried-and-true methods to ensure our reports are effective and professional.

Key Best Practices for Canvas Size

1. Standard Resolutions: Most designers use standard screen resolutions to ensure compatibility and optimal viewing experiences. Common resolutions such as 1440x1024px or 1920x1080px provide ample space for detailed visuals and are easily viewable on most modern monitors and laptops.
2. Consistency and Uniformity: Using standard sizes helps maintain consistency across different reports and dashboards. This uniformity makes it easier for users to navigate and understand the layout, leading to a better overall user experience.
3. Readability and Accessibility: Ensuring that text and visuals are legible without the need for excessive scrolling or zooming is crucial. Standard screen sizes help achieve this balance, making reports accessible and easy to read.
4. Visual Hierarchy: Standard canvas sizes allow designers to create a clear visual hierarchy, guiding the user’s eye to the most important information first. This practice is essential for effective data communication.

We suggest using the resolution of 1440x1024px as a starting point for your reports and dashboards.

Why use that sizing?

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A resolution of 1440x1024 can offer several advantages.

1. ‍Optimal Use of Space: A width of 1440 pixels provides ample space for placing multiple visualizations on a single screen without making the interface feel cramped. This width is ideal for creating detailed dashboards and complex report layouts that need to display a wealth of information at a glance.‍
2. Balanced Aspect Ratio: The aspect ratio near 4:3 allows more vertical space compared to the more common 16:9. This extra vertical space is particularly useful in Power BI for accommodating additional visuals, filters, and data tables, which can help make the report more comprehensive and easier to interpret without the need to scroll.‍
3. Versatility Across Devices: While this resolution is slightly larger than typical HD screens, it scales well across most modern desktop monitors and laptops. This means that reports designed at this size will be large enough to display complex data clearly but not so large that they cause issues on standard screens.‍
4. Enhanced Readability and Usability: By providing a larger canvas, report creators can ensure that texts, charts, and controls are of a sufficient size to enhance readability and usability. This is crucial for making sure that all users, including those who might present data in meetings or need quick access to insights, can easily understand and interact with the reports.‍
5. Standardization and Professionalism: Using a consistent and moderately large canvas size such as 1440x1024 helps maintain a professional appearance across reports. It establishes a standard that can be used across an organization to ensure that all reports have a uniform look and feel, which is important for branding and for ease of use in corporate environments.

The width of 1440px is a good practice to follow across all your reports, as it ensures consistency and compatibility with most modern monitors. This width strikes a balance between providing ample space for detailed visualizations and maintaining readability without the need for horizontal scrolling. However, when it comes to the height of your reports, flexibility is key.

Reports often contain multiple sections, each focusing on different aspects of the data. For instance, a sales report might include sections for overall performance, regional breakdowns, product categories, and trends over time. Each of these sections might require different amounts of vertical space to present the data effectively.

To include all necessary information, your reports might require vertical scrolling. This approach allows you to present a detailed and comprehensive view of the data without overwhelming the user with a cluttered layout. Vertical scrolling is generally well-accepted by users, especially in web-based reports, as long as it is implemented thoughtfully. Horizontal scrolling however, is not acceptable. But how can we prevent horizontal scrolling with a static canvas size? This is where page view settings come into play.

Page View Settings

These settings determine how your report adjusts to different screens and resolutions, directly impacting the viewer's experience. By understanding and properly setting these options, you can ensure that your reports look professional and are easy to use on any device.

Types of Page View Settings
Power BI offers several page view settings that influence how a report is displayed:

• Fit to Page: This setting scales the entire report to fit within the viewer's screen without scrolling. It's ideal for viewers who are using a device with a screen size similar to or larger than the canvas size. However, on smaller screens, this might make elements appear too small.
• Fit to Width: This option stretches the report to match the width of the viewer's screen, ensuring that the width of the report is fully visible, but vertical scrolling may be necessary. This setting is beneficial for ensuring readability, especially on narrower screens.
• Actual Size: The report will display based on the actual pixels of the canvas size you set, which can lead to scrolling both horizontally and vertically on screens that are smaller than the canvas size. This setting is great for viewing detailed visuals on large screens or when exact sizing is crucial for data interpretation.

Choosing the Right Setting:
The choice of page view setting should be influenced by the intended viewing device. For instance, if your audience primarily uses desktop monitors with resolutions that closely match or exceed your canvas size (1440x1024 pixels), 'Fit to Page' or 'Actual Size' might be appropriate. Conversely, for varied screen sizes, including smaller laptops or tablets, 'Fit to Width' might be more suitable.

Selecting the appropriate page view setting ensures that your report is accessible and visually appealing on any device. It helps prevent the need for excessive scrolling and zooming, which can detract from the user experience and make data harder to interpret. Remember, users generally do not like horizontal scrolling, so use the "Actual Size" page view setting only in those cases where you are sure that users have adequate horizontal space on their monitor to view the entire width of the report.

For reports made with Power UI, it is recommended to use the standard size of 1440x1024 pixels and set the page view setting to “fit to width.” This configuration has proven effective across many different client implementations, ensuring a consistent look and feel across all reports. Setting the page view to “fit to width” optimizes the viewing experience by automatically adjusting the report to fit the screen width, eliminating the need for horizontal scrolling. Users may require some training to adjust their view settings, but this empowers them to customize their experience. If the view appears too large, especially on very wide monitors, users can zoom out or adjust the window size for better visibility. This approach has been tested and found effective, providing a reliable and positive experience for all users.

Ultimately, the best settings for your Power BI reports depend on you, your users, and their feedback. While standard sizes and view settings like 1440x1024 pixels and “fit to width” are effective, it’s crucial to tailor the experience based on user needs and preferences. Gathering feedback and providing training empowers users to adjust their view settings, ensuring they get the most out of your reports. By listening to your users and adapting accordingly, you can create an optimal and user-friendly reporting environment.