Easy Tech TutsHow to Add Drill Through in Power BI Easily 2026
By Impran M N
Breaking down an executive summary into itemized transaction rows works best as a separate, dedicated page rather than cramming everything onto one crowded canvas. This guide walks through setting up a drillthrough page, mapping the shared field that connects it to your summary visuals, and testing the navigation flow using the right-click context menu. It's aimed at report developers building investigative, click-to-explore dashboards.
01Build your detail page
Navigate to the sub-page intended for granular analysis and confirm its Page type is set to Standard under Page information.
02Locate the drill-through field well
Scroll down in the Visualizations pane below the standard formatting properties to find the specialized Drill-through data well.
03Map your shared field
Drag your primary categorical field from the Data pane and drop it into the Drill-through fields container.
04Check the automatic back button
Confirm that Power BI has placed a functional Back button in the top-left of your detailed canvas.
05Test the drillthrough action
On your main summary page, right-click a data category or bar, hover over Drill-through, and select your target page to confirm filtering works.
Frequently asked questions
What field should I use to connect a drillthrough action?
Use a shared categorical field that exists on both your summary and detail pages, such as a product or region category.
Does the back button need to be built manually?
No, Power BI automatically injects a styled Back button on your detail page once a drillthrough field is configured.
How do I trigger a drillthrough as a viewer?
Right-click a data point on the summary page, hover over Drill-through, and select the target detail page from the context menu.
Can I test drillthrough without leaving Desktop?
Yes, you can hold Ctrl and click your Back button or use the right-click context menu directly inside Power BI Desktop to test the flow.
Watch the full walkthrough
The same steps, demonstrated on screen from start to finish.
