The 3D Touch feature in iOS that Apple introduced in 2015 with the release of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus provides a handy shortcut for interacting with apps from the home screen.
Now, the users can perform common tasks with a “deep-press” of the Power BI app icon, according to Microsoft Power BI program manager Romi Koifman.
By pressing more firmly on the app’s icon, users instantly access recently used dashboards, Koifman wrote on Microsoft Power BI blog. Users can also view notifications and quickly search the app without first launching the app and digging into its menus.
Microsoft has also added a feedback mechanism to the app’s Q&A feature, the company’s stab at conversational business intelligence (BI). Added last month to the Power BI iOS app, it provides a chat-like data analysis experience, enabling users to ask natural-language questions about the business information they wish to explore. Power BI replies by generating charts and graphs on the fly.
With the latest version of the app, users can let Microsoft know if Power BI is providing the answers they’re looking for.
“Among other UI improvements, we added the option to provide feedback in context, so you can let us know how you feel about the answers you get from Q&A. Just long-tap a chart or other result, then tap the smiley or frowny face,” Koifman said. The anonymous feedback gathered by the new feature will help improve the quality of the answers users get from Q&A over time, she added.
In the Android version of the app, Microsoft has improved the QR code sharing experience. If users happen upon a QR code for a Power BI tile that wasn’t expressly shared with them, they can now request access directly in the app after scanning the code.
Also new in the Power BI app for Android is multi-server support. Users can now access up to five SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) servers, a capability that already exists in the iOS version of the app. SSRS provides report processing, publishing and management services for business data. Previously, users were required to switch between SSRS servers.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has made a big change that may help Power BI custom visuals developers reach a larger audience.
“Power BI is now a product in the Office store, listing all Power BI custom visuals,” revealed Tzvi Keisar, a program manager at Microsoft Power BI, in a March 22 announcement. “Searching and filtering by categories are available for easy navigation.”
Similar to the Windows Store app marketplace, the Office Store serves as a searchable catalog for Office 365 software, add-ins and templates. While the current visuals library is being migrated, new submissions will only be accepted to the Office Store. In addition to gaining more exposure for their offerings, developers gain other benefits including the ability to track downloads, manage their submissions and get feedback from the store’s review system, said Keisar.