Interface overview (Report, Data, Model views) in Power BI - Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Power BI has three main views to work with your data and reports. These views help you create visuals, check your data, and manage relationships between tables. Knowing these views makes building reports easier and more organized.

When you want to design and arrange charts and visuals on report pages.

When you need to see the raw data tables imported or connected to your report.

When you want to create or edit relationships between tables to connect data.

When you want to check data types and columns in your tables.

When you want to switch between designing reports and managing data structure.

Steps

Step 1: Click

- Report view icon (left vertical pane, top icon)

The main canvas shows report pages with visuals and charts you can edit or add.

💡 This is the default view when you open Power BI Desktop.

Step 2: Click

- Data view icon (left vertical pane, middle icon)

The screen changes to show tables and their columns with data rows visible.

💡 Use this view to inspect your data and check for errors or missing values.

Step 3: Click

- Model view icon (left vertical pane, bottom icon)

You see a diagram of tables and lines showing relationships between them.

💡 Drag fields between tables here to create or edit relationships.

Before vs After

Before

Power BI Desktop opens showing a blank report canvas with no visuals.

After

User clicks Data view icon and sees tables with data rows and columns loaded from the data source.

Settings Reference

View selection icons

📍 Left vertical pane in Power BI Desktop

Switch between designing reports, viewing data tables, and managing data relationships.

Default: Report view

Table relationships

📍 Model view

Connect tables to enable combined data analysis.

Default: No relationships initially

Common Mistakes

Trying to edit data directly in Report view.

Report view only shows visuals, not raw data tables.

Switch to Data view to inspect or explore raw data tables.

Not creating relationships in Model view when needed.

Without relationships, visuals combining multiple tables may show incorrect results.

Use Model view to create relationships between tables before building complex reports.

Summary

Power BI has three main views: Report, Data, and Model.

Report view is for creating and arranging visuals on pages.

Data view lets you see and check your raw data tables.

Model view helps you manage relationships between tables.

Switching views helps organize your work and build accurate reports.