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excelisfun - How to Use Images in a Power BI Desktop Report from Picture Web URL (Excel Magic Trick 1364)

Thumbnail of the video “excelisfun - How to Use Images in a Power BI Desktop Report from Picture Web URL (Excel Magic Trick 1364)”
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Author: excelisfun
Categories: Science Technology Business
Tags: science, technology, business
Views: 2 · Last viewed: 2026-10-16 00:55 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: To show product images in a Power BI Desktop report, import the Excel table, set the picture URL column's data category to Image URL, and display it in a multi-row card. The video demonstrates this workflow using a web-URL image column, then adds a slicer to filter the results by company ID.

Key Points

  • The source data is an Excel table with product names, suggested retail price, and a picture web URL column, imported via Get Data > Excel and loaded through Power Query.
  • Power BI Desktop is described as a free all-in-one tool combining Power Query, Power Pivot, and visualization features.
  • Formatting the suggested retail price column as English currency with two decimals is done from the Modeling tab.
  • The picture web URL column must be explicitly tagged so Power BI treats its values as images, rather than plain text.
  • A slicer built on the company ID field lets the viewer filter the image cards by product category, such as specialty kites, gel boomerangs, juggling items, and yo-yos.

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions:
    • Download Power BI Desktop (free) and open it.
    • Click Get Data, choose Excel, and open the downloaded file.
    • Select the table with the blue top line, then click Edit to open Power Query.
    • No data type changes are needed in Power Query; click Close & Apply to load the table into the data model.
    • Select the suggested retail price column, go to the Modeling tab, and under Formatting choose the currency drop-down, then English currency with two decimals.
    • Select the picture web URL column, go to Modeling > Properties > Data Category, and choose Image URL.
    • From the Visualizations pane, choose Multi-row card, then check Products, Suggested Retail Price, and Picture Web URL.
    • Click and drag the card edges to enlarge the pictures until they display.
    • Click a blank area of the canvas, choose the Slicer visual, and check the company ID field to filter results.
    • Use the eraser icon on the slicer to clear the filter and show all items.
  • The video notes that the company name will be shown in a later video, which will also cover relationships between multiple tables.
  • The example uses a simple single table, so no relationships are needed here.

Bottom Line

Power BI Desktop can display web-hosted product images directly in visuals once the URL column is set to the Image URL data category, making product catalogs easy to browse and filter.