This blog post covers the latest updates for the Power BI Developer community. Don’t forget to check out our last developer blog post, if you haven’t done so already. 

Here is the list of updates for this blog:

Embedded analytics updates

Announcements 

Transport-layer security settings

New filter pane experience

Become a Power BI influencer by joining Power BI Embedded research panel

 

Embed capabilities 

High contrast support for embedded reports

New usage metrics report now shows embed sessions breakout

Filters API now supports `require single selection` for basic filters

New aggregation function support for report authoring data fields

 

Power BI Visuals Platform updates 

New requirements for Power BI visual certification 

Partner Center Migration 

Promote your latest Power BI Visuals in the upcoming Power BI Desktop blog 

 

Come and meet us!

 

 

Embedded analytics 

Announcements 

Transport-layer security settings 

Microsoft is committed to company-wide programs providing intelligent security and control across our services and solutions. As part of this, we highly recommend upgrading the TLS version of your application to TLS 1.2. 

Note: The support for TLS 1.0/1.1 will end on June 2020. Please be sure to upgrade your application before that. 

 

What is TLS? 

TLS stands for “Transport Layer Security” and is a protocol that is an industry standard designed to protect the privacy of information communicated over the Internet. TLS is used in many web browsers and applications that communicate over HTTPS and TCP. 

How to upgrade the TLS version 

If you are using .NET application, please do one of the following: 

• If your application is running on .NET Framework 4.6 or higher, unless modified the default configuration will continue to work. 
• If your application runs on .NET Framework older than 4.6, you can enable the protocol programmatically when your application starts to run using the following line of code: 
  System.Net.ServicePointManager .SecurityProtocol |= SecurityProtocolType.Tls11 | SecurityProtocolType.Tls12; 

Power BI API SDK supports .NET standard 2.0 from version 2.1.0, which adds support in TLS version 1.2. you can download latest SDK version here. 

If you are using PowerShell please add the following to your PowerShell Script: 

[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12  

For others, please check with your vendor. For most languages it can be done with a simple config entry. 

Additional information can be found in ‘TLS 1.2 support at Microsoft’.

New filter pane experience 

The new filter pane goes live in all reports in April 2020. Turn it on now to fine-tune the formatting in your reports before then. 

 

The new filter pane enables you to format the filter pane to match the look and feel of your report. You can format the filters pane differently for each page in the report. 

 

You can also modify the default settings of the filter pane with a theme file. Read use report themes in Power BI Desktop article to learn more. 

For Power BI Embedded, the client JavaScript API can modify the report theme, and thus modify the new filter pane formatting. Read Apply report themes using JavaScript API to learn more. 

If you wish to retain the old dark theme, use this theme Json that changes the filter pane formatting to dark theme. 

Become a Power BI influencer by joining Power BI Embedded research panel 

We’re looking for professionals who use Microsoft Power BI Embedded to join our research panel. Become a Power BI influencer! 

As a research panelist, you’ll have the opportunity to periodically participate in studies where you’ll try out new features, give feedback on never-before-seen design concepts, and help us learn more about how you use Power BI Embedded and the challenges you face in your role. You’ll receive a gratuity for each research activity you help us with. 

Be an influencer and help shape the future of Power BI Embedded! 

Join Microsoft Power BI Embedded Research Panel 

Please feel free to forward this opportunity to others you know who also use Power BI Embedded and would like to join our research panel. 

 

Embed capabilities

High contrast support for embedded reports 

In order to enable users who may have visual or physical impairments to benefit from your reports, you can now set your embedded reports to use a high contrast theme. 

High contrast mode can be set for your embedded report by simply adding a single parameter to the embed configuration of your application. 

var embedConfig = { 
    … 
    contrastMode: models.contrastMode.HighContrast1 
}; 

 

 

• Learn more about high contrast in Power BI Embedded 
• Read more about accessibility in Power BI 

New usage metrics report now shows embed sessions breakout

The new usage metrics allows you to monitor the views of your report. An additional feature that comes with the new usage metrics report, is the ability to see the consumption’s platform. For embedded reports, you can see the different kinds of embed by simply hovering over the embedded data. 

 

Learn more about the new usage report 

Filters API now supports `Require single selection` for basic filters 

Power BI allows you to set a basic filter as a single selection filter, you can do this by using the checkbox at the bottom of the filter card (when editing the report).  

 

It is now possible to have the same single selection filter behavior when using the JavaScript client APIs. 

All you need to do is to add the `requireSingleSelection` parameter to your filter’s definition and set it to true. 

var filter = { 
    … 
    requireSingleSelection: true 
}; 

 

 

Learn more about Power BI Embedded Filters APIs 

New aggregation function support for report authoring data fields 

Power BI report authoring APIs now support a new aggregation function when constructing data fields. 

When using column aggregation, you can now set the aggregation function to “DoNotSummarize”. 

const columnAggregation: pbi.models.IColumnAggrTarget = { 
    $schema: "https://powerbi.com/product/schema#columnAggr",   
    table: "Store",   
    column: "Name", 
    aggregationFunction: "DoNotSummarize" // Optional, if not supplied default is used. 
}; 

 

Learn more about Power BI report authoring APIs 

Power BI Visuals Platform  

New requirements for Power BI visual certification 

The process and policies for Power BI visual certification is continuing to improve. The new requirements are effective for new visual submissions. 

Please note that if you have migrated to the partner center, now you can request certification through your visual submission as explained in the Get a Power BI visual certified article. You can find the new updated requirements in the Certification requirements section. 

Partner Center Migration 

As you may already know, Microsoft is rolling out a modern management experience for the Office Store program in Partner Center. Office Add-ins (including Outlook add-ins), SharePoint add-ins, Teams apps, and Power BI visuals will be migrated to Partner Center. 

Please check out the Partner Center migration FAQ article – it provides answers to frequently asked questions about the migration. 

For partners that were already migrated or those who will be migrated soon, related documentation can be found in the Submit your Office solution to Microsoft AppSource via Partner Center article. 

Promote your latest Power BI Visuals in the upcoming Power BI Desktop blog 

This year, we’re changing up the format for the monthly Visualization section on the Power BI Desktop feature summary blog. Check the last Visualization section on the last Power BI Desktop blog. As part of those changes, we’re asking the Power BI Visual Publishers themselves, to provide video content for their latest releases. This is a great opportunity to showcase your latest release and demo all the capabilities in a way that best suits you! To be considered for a monthly blog release, please make sure you review the following guidelines: 

• The release date of your visual should be in the month before the blog. For example, to be included in March blog, The release date of your visual on AppSource should be anywhere from 1 February 2020, to 1 March 2020. 
• The video demo should be recorded in Full HD (1920 x 1080 px) and should not include background music. 

• We prefer that you keep the video demo under two minutes so that it’s long enough to showcase key features but short enough to keep viewers engaged. 
• You will need to fill out your submission in this form, and publish your video(s) to your YouTube channel. 
• We cannot guarantee that we will accept all submissions. 

  

Final submissions for March blog are due 1 March 2020. 

If you have further questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to PBIDReleaseContent@microsoft.com. 

Come and meet us! 

Amit Shuster, Power BI Embedded Product Manager, will deliver a 20 minutes Power BI Embedded session at SQLBits 2020: 

“What’s new and what’s next in Power BI embedded analytics” 

Learn about the latest innovations in Power BI embedded analytics as well as the upcoming roadmap! 

In addition, there will be a one-day training course especially for developers at the SQLBits pre-conference: 

“Become a Power BI Embedded Analytics expert developer” 

Where you could learn how to set up an embedded environment, how to use advanced client application capabilities, and about automation & life-cycle management. 

 

Be sure not to miss it! 

SQLBits 2020 ExCel London, 31st March – 4th April 2020 

 

That’s all for this post. We hope you found it useful. Please continue sending us your feedback – it’s very important for us! Have an amazing feature in mind? Please share it or vote in our Power BI Embedded Analytics Ideas forum, or our Custom Visuals Ideas forum.