Guide: Data Write-Back directly in PowerPoint Presentations (w. Power BI + Power Apps)

Introduction

It is now easier than ever to Embed Live Power BI Reports in Power Point presentations.

However, an overlooked consequence is that this also means that we can now embed Power Apps in PowerPoint too!

This short article will:

• Teach you how to embed Power BI Reports and Power Apps in PowerPoint for Data Write-Back directly in your presentations
• Outline potential use cases for this integration

1. Create a Power BI Report with an Embedded Power App

Your first step is to create a Power BI Report with an embedded Power App, that we want to embed in PowerPoint.

Do you have a report that you want to integrate in PowerPoint already? Great! You can skip to the next section.

If you do not, go ahead and follow my guide below on the subject, to create a Power App, and integrate it directly in your Power BI Reports:

FAQ:

• The Power App can use any data source you'd like. Sharepoint, Dataverse, SQL Server - you name it.
• The Power BI Report must be placed in a non-personal workspace (anything besides your default "My Workspace" will work.
• You must be logged in to PowerPoint with the same account you are using with Power BI.

2. Add your Power BI Report to your Power Point Presentation

Next, we want to connect our Power BI Report to PowerPoint.

First, open up PowerPoint and locate the Add-ins section of the top Ribbon:

Click "Get Add-ins", and install the Microsoft Power BI Add-in for PowerPoint:

Select the newly installed Add-in from "My Add-ins" to add it to your Power Point Slide

After loading, you'll be greeted with an interface asking for a URL. Simply copy-paste the URL of the report you wish to embed, and hit Insert:

That's it! You now have a fully functioning Power BI Report inside of Power Point. And YES! The embedded Power App is working too, and will write your input to its underlying data source:

You even have options for:

• Showing/Hiding the Filter Pane
• Refreshing the data (especially useful for reports running DirectQuery
• Running AI driven Insight generation

3. Use Cases for embedding Power BI / Power Apps in PowerPoint

Use Case 1: Comment on Power BI Reports directly in PowerPoint

In the example above, I have embedded a Power BI Report of a Profit & Loss Statement, which includes a simple Power App for writing comments on the selected period and department, for other users to see.

This live P&L dashboard can easily be integrated into, and enhance any C-Level presentation, Finance Analysis, or anything else you would use PowerPoint for.

The Power BI Report would reflect all the latest data, and the integrated Comment Power App would reflect the analytics team's latest comments on what is being presented.

Use Case 2: Live What If?-analysis during presentations

If you have embedded your Power App into a Power BI Report feeding off a DirectQuery-ready data source, so that your Write-Back data is reflected live in the report (Learn how to here: Guide: Add Write-Back to Power BI reports with Power Apps - Part 2: Display write-back data LIVE in Power BI reports | LinkedIn), you can leverage this live connection inside PowerPoint too.

You could imagine a scenario where you are inputting Budget or Forecasting numbers into a Power App, where this data is then used in your Power BI report and its calculations. This interaction could now be done inside of PowerPoint with the integration seen in this article.

Summary

Integrating Power BI Reports and Power Apps into PowerPoint is as easy as can be, and allows you to supercharge your presentations with Live Reports and Data Write-Back.

Reach out if you have questions, or interesting use cases to share.