Race Against the Clock: Power BI to Print-Ready in 50 Minutes!

Your stakeholder needs a printable version of your Power BI report—with proper page breaks and PDF export—and they need it soon. Can you convert it in 50 minutes?

I couldn't the first time this happened; the resulting panic still haunts me. This demo recreates that actual work crisis, showing you exactly how to convert a Power BI report into its paginated equivalent so you're ready when this happens to you.

This is a live, timed challenge. You'll watch the complete conversion in real time as I transform an existing Power BI report into a paginated .rdl using Report Builder and the same semantic model. No editing, no skipping ahead—just the actual work with the clock running.

What you'll see:

-The Complete Workflow: Every step from opening the .pbix to publishing the finished paginated report

-Real-Time Decision Making: Layout choices for page breaks, headers, footers, and print formatting as they happen

-Live Problem-Solving: Handling challenges with parameters, grouping, expressions, and formatting on the fly

-Time-Saving Techniques: Shortcuts and strategies that keep the conversion moving

-Honest Assessment: What converts easily vs. what requires workarounds

The techniques apply to any Power BI report that needs print-ready output. You'll leave knowing exactly what this conversion process looks like in practice—including how to overcome common obstacles quickly and what to expect when you're under pressure.

1. Execute a complete Power BI-to-paginated report conversion using Report Builder and shared semantic models under time pressure 2. Apply practical techniques for layout decisions, parameters, and expressions that maintain report fidelity while optimizing for print output 3. Identify conversion patterns that work efficiently versus scenarios requiring alternative approaches or stakeholder negotiation