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This guide shows you how to display a Microsoft Power BI dashboard on your digital signage screens, perfect for showcasing business intelligence, data visualizations, and key performance indicators.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:
  • A Microsoft account with access to the target Power BI dashboard
  • Microsoft Account login credentials
  • 2‑Factor Authentication (2FA) enabled on the account, with the 2FA secret key available
  • The full dashboard URL you plan to display
See our guide: How to Set Up 2FA and Get a Secret Key
This integration requires a direct Microsoft account login with an email and password. Federated login methods, such as signing in with a Google, work/school Microsoft account, or Apple account, are not compatible with this setup. Please ensure you use an account with basic authentication credentials.
Best Practice: For security, it is highly recommended to use a dedicated Microsoft service account with “Viewer” permissions for the specific Power BI workspace or report you wish to display.

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Step-by-Step Configuration

1

Create the Dashboard App in Pickcel

Log in to the Pickcel Console and navigate to Apps. Search for the Dashboard app and click on it. Then, click Create App.
Search for Dashboard app in Pickcel Apps section
  • Give a name to the app instance based on the dashboard you are configuring.
  • Now, select Power BI from the dropdown menu. The fields required for configuring your Power BI Dashboard will open on the right-hand side.
Select Power BI from dropdown menu
2

Fill in the Fields for Power BI Dashboard Configuration

This section requires precise information to generate a correct and secure Auth Token.
  • PowerBI Dashboard URL: Log in to your Power BI account and navigate to the report you want to display. Copy the entire URL from the browser’s address bar and
Copy Power BI dashboard URL from browser
Paste it in the Dashboard URL input field.
Paste dashboard URL in the configuration field
  • Microsoft Account Email ID: Enter the email address that you use for logging in to your Microsoft Account.
  • Microsoft Password: Enter the password for that account.
  • Auth Secret: Enter the 2FA Secret Key you saved when setting up 2FA for your Microsoft account.
Enter Microsoft account credentials and 2FA secret key
Click Generate Auth Token. The token will be generated and automatically pasted into the Auth Token field on the left.
Click Generate Auth Token button
3

Enter Screen Selection Code

For the Power BI integration, you must define the specific area of the dashboard to display. Use the Pickcel Dashboard Screen Mapper Extension, select the area you want to show, and confirm the selection. The code will be copied to your clipboard. Paste this code into the Screen Selection Code field.
Check this detailed guide for more info on: How to Use the Dashboard Screen Mapper Chrome Extension?
Using Screen Mapper extension to select dashboard area
Screen selection code entered in Power BI configuration
4

Set Refresh Interval and Session Expiry

  • Refresh Interval: This setting defines how often the dashboard screenshot is updated. For data that changes daily, an interval of 60 minutes is suitable.
  • Session Expiry: This forces a fresh login to prevent session timeouts from the service provider. A value of 5-8 hours is recommended.
Set refresh interval and session expiry settings
5

Enable Scroll Option for the Dashboard

There are two ways to scroll through your entire dashboard:
  • Enable Auto Scroll: This lets you set a scroll duration in seconds. For example, if you set it to 20 seconds, the entire dashboard will scroll from top to bottom over 20 seconds.
  • Enable Auto Scroll Height: This lets you set a scroll height in pixels. The screen will scroll down by the defined pixel height.
Configure auto scroll duration and scroll height options
6

Create and Publish

Once you are done with the configuration, click Create App.
Click Create App button to save configuration
This successfully creates the app instance, which will be available to view in the Media section.
7

View App in Media Section

To preview the dashboard, go to Media, find the app instance by the name you created (e.g., “Power BI Dashboard”), and click on its thumbnail (magnifier icon).
Navigate to Media section and click on the app thumbnail to preview
This will display a preview of your Power BI dashboard.
Preview of Power BI dashboard in Pickcel
If you are content with the result, assign it to your digital signage screens.
The output is visible as a preview in the media section as shown above. It may take some time for the dashboard screenshot to load, depending on the dashboard app that is configured.
If the password or any other credentials are incorrect, the process will stall on the login screen, displaying the login screen instead of the dashboard.

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What’s Next?

Your Power BI Dashboard App is now ready. For further reading: