One could follow the described approach step by step to optimize Power BI visuals using bookmarks and buttons to present a simplified and interactive storytelling experience.
Create Bookmarks for Key Views: Bookmarks are used to capture the current view of the report, including any filters, slicers, visuals, and pages in the report. First, set different views of the data, which are pivots in your story. For example, one bookmark may focus on depicting the major performance indicators while another may focus on the performance indicators analysis. To create a bookmark, arrange your visuals and filters, and then go to the 'View' tab, click on 'Bookmarks Pane', and finally, 'Add.'
Add Buttons for Navigation: Buttons let you enhance interactivity by allowing the user to navigate the story as it progresses. You can use buttons to go to other bookmarks or to perform different operations. In Power BI, click on the 'Insert' Tab and select 'Buttons'. Pick one style (a blank, a left arrow, or a right arrow) and insert it in your report. After that, go to the button's action settings and change it to "Bookmark." Connect this action with the bookmark about which this button should inform.
Make Use of Interactive Visuals: The interactive part should also include visualizations that will change every time the user presses a button or selects a filter. For example, a user presses a button, and the data that was displayed in one type of visualization (for example, a bar chart) changes to data shown previously in the same kind of visualization but in a different format (for example, a line graph). Use bookmarks to dictate which visuals will be displayed and how they will respond to each other. By stacking different visuals and applying different bookmarks, the user gets to interact with the data differently, and the various phases of the story become available to them.
Implementing View and Layer Controls: Employ buttons and bookmarks for switch functions on different views. For instance, a summarized version may be at the beginning, and the user may be allowed to 'zoom in' on particular information. This requires that many bookmarks are created showing different layers of the information, say detailed analysis or backup information. After which, these buttons would turn out to be on and off switches of these layers, enabling smooth navigation.
Increase Audience Participation: To make a storytelling experience more exciting, utilize bookmarks to facilitate animations or transitions from one state to the other. For instance, users may perform steps of certain processes or undergo a guided analysis, in which case figures will change corresponding to the selected bookmark. “Selected” and “Deselected” states in buttons may be used to change certain elements as the user navigates the report, which shows how dynamic some features can be.
That makes your Power BI report resemble a story with the use of bookmarks and buttons because the reader can interact with and explore the information in a user-friendly and active way.
