How to Create Efficient Navigation Menus in Power BI and Tableau: Tips and Tricks

Let’s talk about something we all care about: making dashboards easy to navigate. Whether you’re building a simple sales overview or a detailed KPI tracker, good navigation can make or break the user experience. After all, what’s the point of a beautifully designed dashboard if users can’t figure out where to click next?

Now, here’s where it gets personal. I come from a Tableau background, so I’ve spent years crafting dashboards with Tableau’s minimalist but highly customizable approach. Recently, though, I’ve been diving into Power BI. My learning journey began a few months ago when I took on a project that involved translating a dashboard from Tableau to Power BI. This was a real eye-opener. I saw firsthand how the two tools approach navigation differently, and I discovered that each has its strengths—and quirks.

In this article, I’m not just here to share the theory; I’m here to walk you through the practical side of things. Think of it as me, a Tableau pro learning Power BI, sharing notes with a fellow BI specialist. We’ll explore how to create navigation menus in both tools, compare their features, and talk about when to use what. Let’s get started!

Why Navigation Matters in Dashboards

Let’s set the stage: imagine you’re navigating that old sail ship, equipped with a compass and a map, trying to reach a distant port. Now, translate that to dashboards—your users are sailors relying on your navigational tools to find their insights quickly and efficiently. Without clear directions, they’re lost at sea.

Good navigation transforms a dashboard from a simple data dump into a powerful tool that empowers decision-making. It’s not just about moving between pages; it’s about creating a seamless experience where users instinctively know where to click next. Navigation is your way of guiding users to the story behind the numbers.

When I worked on translating that Tableau dashboard to Power BI, the importance of intuitive navigation hit me hard. Tableau’s approach felt like a compass—simple, reliable, and flexible. Power BI, on the other hand, was more like a modern GPS, offering dynamic and automated options. Both tools get the job done, but they do it in their own unique ways.

In following chapters, we’ll dive into how each tool helps you design a user-friendly navigation system and why these differences matter for your projects.

Creating Navigation Menus in Power BI

Power BI makes creating navigation menus a breeze, thanks to its Page Navigator. This feature is like having a GPS that’s already mapped out your route—dynamic, automatic, and easy to set up. Let’s break it down step by step:

Step 1: Setting Up Your Report Pages

Before diving into the navigation, make sure your report pages are well-organized. Think of them as destinations on your map. Each page should represent a logical section of your report, like “Overview,” “Sales Trends,” or “Product Performance.” Keeping the structure clear will make navigation more intuitive for your users.

Step 2: Adding the Page Navigator

Here’s where the magic happens. Power BI’s Page Navigator is a built-in feature that generates a dynamic menu for your report pages:

1. Go to the Insert tab in Power BI Desktop.

2. Click Buttons > Navigator > Page Navigator.

   

3. Boom! Your navigation bar is automatically created, with buttons for each page in your report.

The best part? If you add or remove pages later, the Page Navigator updates itself—no manual tweaking needed.

Step 3: Customizing Your Navigator

Once your Page Navigator is in place, you can style it to match your dashboard’s theme:

• Button Styles: Change colors, fonts, and shapes to suit your design.

• Layouts: Arrange the buttons horizontally or vertically, depending on your dashboard layout.

• Hover Effects: Add effects for when users hover over or click a button. This adds a layer of interactivity and polish.

For example, in my translated project, I used a horizontal layout with subtle hover effects to make the navigation bar feel modern and user-friendly. It took just a few clicks to get the look right.

Step 4: Enhancing the User Experience

Here are some tips to make your navigation even better:

• Hide Irrelevant Pages: Use the Selection Pane to hide pages you don’t want users to see, like drafts or helper pages.

• Use Meaningful Names: Rename your pages with clear, descriptive titles. Avoid generic names like “Page 1” or “Sheet 2.”

• Combine with Filters: For advanced use cases, pair your Page Navigator with slicers or filters to create a more interactive experience.

Power BI’s Page Navigator is all about simplicity and efficiency. It’s perfect for when you want to focus on content rather than fiddling with the mechanics of navigation. In the next chapter, we’ll shift gears and explore how Tableau approaches navigation—spoiler alert: it’s a little more manual but just as powerful.

Creating Navigation Menus in Tableau

Tableau’s approach to navigation feels like working with a trusty compass. It’s simple, flexible, and gives you full control—but it requires a bit more effort to set up compared to Power BI. Let’s walk through how to build a navigation system in Tableau, step by step.

Step 1: Planning Your Dashboard Layout

Before creating a navigation menu, think about your dashboard’s structure. Each sheet or dashboard acts as a stop on your journey, so the layout should flow naturally. For example:

• Dashboard 1: Overview.

• Dashboard 2: Regional Sales.

• Dashboard 3: Product Trends.

The clearer your structure, the easier it will be to guide users through the data story.

Step 2: Adding Buttons to Simulate a Menu

In Tableau, there’s no built-in Page Navigator like in Power BI. Instead, you create a menu by adding ready navigation buttons in containers:

1. Open your dashboard and drag a Container to your canvas.

2. Drag Navigation buttons into containers and distribute them evenly.

Step 3: Settings of navigational buttons.

Unfortunatelly you have to set up each button separately.

• Navigate to: Allows you to choose link destination

• Button Style: Give choice between text and image button.

• Formatting: You have ability to set font, border and background, what is extremely useful when you want to mimic PowerBI Navigator behaviour, of highlighting on which element you are currently.

  

Step 4: Enhancing Your Navigation Design

While Tableau doesn’t offer advanced button styles like Power BI, you can still create a clean, effective design:

• Group Buttons: Use horizontal or vertical containers to align your buttons neatly.

• Use Icons: Minimalist icons can make your navigation look sleek and professional.

• Color Coding: Different button colors for each section can help users quickly identify where they’re going.

• Use Dynamic Zone Visibility: To be able build dropdown-like structures in menus.

In my Tableau-to-Power BI project, I replicated a similar navigation bar using these steps. It took more manual effort, but the flexibility allowed me to fine-tune every detail to match the original design.

Step 5: Testing and Iterating

As with any Tableau dashboard, testing is essential. Navigate through your menus as if you’re a user. Ensure everything flows logically, and adjust button placement or actions if needed.

Tableau’s manual approach to navigation might take more time, but it offers unmatched control and customization. In the next chapter, we’ll directly compare Tableau’s compass-like navigation to Power BI’s GPS-style Page Navigator, helping you decide which fits your needs better.

Key Differences Between Power BI and Tableau Navigation

Now that we’ve explored how both tools handle navigation, let’s directly compare their approaches. Think of it as comparing a GPS (Power BI) with a compass (Tableau)—both can get you where you’re going, but they do it differently.

1. Automation vs. Manual Configuration

• Power BI: With the Page Navigator, everything is dynamic. Add a new page? It’s instantly reflected in the navigation menu. This is perfect if you’re working on a large or evolving report.

• Tableau: Navigation is all about manual control. Each button and action must be configured by hand. This means more effort upfront but gives you the flexibility to design exactly what you need.

Metaphor: Power BI is like a GPS recalculating your route when you take a wrong turn, while Tableau is the compass you adjust as you go.

2. Customization Options

• Power BI: Offers rich styling features for buttons, including hover effects, active states, and layout options. It’s easy to create visually appealing, interactive menus with minimal effort.

• Tableau: Customization is more basic. You can tweak text, colors, and add icons, but advanced interactivity (like hover effects) requires workarounds or external tools.

Metaphor: Power BI feels like using a set of pre-designed templates with room for tweaks, while Tableau is more like a blank canvas where you paint every detail yourself.

3. Scalability

• Power BI: The dynamic nature of the Page Navigator makes it better suited for large-scale dashboards with many pages. It’s effortless to keep navigation up-to-date.

• Tableau: While it offers full control, managing navigation across many sheets or dashboards can become tedious and time-consuming.

Metaphor: Power BI handles a fleet of ships effortlessly, while Tableau lets you meticulously steer one ship at a time.

4. User Experience

• Power BI: The automated navigation ensures consistency and ease of use for end-users, even if the report evolves over time.

• Tableau: Offers more creative freedom to design user-specific navigation flows, but it requires a thoughtful approach to avoid confusion.

Metaphor: Power BI is like following a guided tour, while Tableau gives you a map and lets you explore.

5. Learning Curve

• Power BI: Navigation is beginner-friendly. The tools are intuitive, and you can create a polished system in minutes.

• Tableau: Requires more technical knowledge, especially when setting up Dashboard Actions. However, for seasoned users, the manual approach feels natural.

Metaphor: Power BI is the automatic transmission car anyone can drive, while Tableau is the manual shift—more effort, but greater control for experienced hands.

Table Summary: Power BI vs. Tableau Navigation

Aspect	Power BI	Tableau
Automation	Fully dynamic	Manual configuration
Customization	Advanced styling and interactivity	Basic options, creative workarounds
Scalability	Handles large reports with ease	Becomes tedious for many sheets
User Experience	Consistent and beginner-friendly	Customizable but user-dependent
Learning Curve	Easy for beginners	Steeper, but rewarding for experts

Conclusion

As someone who has spent years working with Tableau and only recently started exploring Power BI, I’ve often found myself frustrated by how overcomplicated some things feel in Power BI compared to Tableau. Tableau’s simplicity and intuitive design make it my tool of choice for many projects. However, I have to give credit where it’s due: Power BI’s Page Navigator is a feature I truly admire.

The dynamic and automated nature of Page Navigator is a game-changer, especially for large or frequently updated reports. It removes the manual overhead, ensures consistency, and adds a layer of polish to navigation that’s hard to replicate in Tableau. If Tableau had a similar built-in feature, it would be a perfect blend of flexibility and efficiency.

That said, Tableau’s manual approach still has its strengths, offering complete control and allowing for highly customized navigation systems. But it’s hard not to feel envious of Power BI users when setting up a navigation bar for a complex dashboard.

At the end of the day, both tools have their strengths, and it’s all about using the right tool for the job. Whether you’re navigating the seas with Tableau’s trusty compass or steering with Power BI’s GPS-like navigator, the goal remains the same: to guide your users smoothly through their data journey.

Now it’s your turn—try building navigation menus in both tools and see what works best for your needs. Who knows? You might just find a new favorite feature or even a new favorite tool.