A container is an area in the Power BI or Microsoft Fabric navigation experience that groups related content or actions, such as Home, Browse, Apps or Workspaces.
Container
In Power BI and Microsoft Fabric navigation, a container is an area in the left navigation pane that groups related content or actions.
Quick facts about containers
Navigation area
A container is a section users can open from the navigation pane, such as Home, Browse, Apps or Workspaces.
Role dependent
The containers a user sees can depend on role, license, tenant settings and enabled Microsoft Fabric features.
Content access
Navigation areas only show content and experiences the user is allowed to access. Microsoft notes that Fabric Home lists supported content a user can access.
Workspace context
Workspaces are one of the most important containers because they group related Power BI and Fabric items for collaboration and management. Microsoft describes a workspace as a collaborative container for related items.
How containers work in Power BI
Containers help users move between different areas of Power BI and Microsoft Fabric. Instead of placing every report, app, workspace or task in one view, the navigation pane separates them into areas that support different jobs. Common containers can include:
- Home
- Browse
- Apps
- Workspaces
Other areas, such as OneLake, Create, Metrics, Copilot, Learn, Monitor, Real-Time, Deployment pipelines and Workloads, may appear depending on the user’s environment. The exact navigation can change based on license, role, tenant features and whether the user is working in a Power BI or Fabric experience.
Why containers matter for report access
Containers make Power BI easier to navigate, but they also show why structure matters when reporting grows. A user might find content through Home, open a shared app, browse a workspace or move into another Fabric area depending on what they need to do. For internal teams, that can work well when users understand the environment and have the right permissions.
When reports need to reach customers, partners or larger audiences, the native navigation model may not always be the clearest experience. External users often need a simpler place to access only the reports meant for them, without seeing the broader Power BI or Fabric workspace structure. Skald BI helps by adding a secure branded portal layer around existing Power BI reports, so organizations can give each audience a more focused way to access reporting content.
Use cases
See how different types of organisations use Skald BI to share Power BI securely with employees, customers and partners.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a container in Power BI?
Are containers the same for every user?
No. The containers a user sees can depend on their role, license, tenant settings and enabled Microsoft Fabric or Power BI features.
Yes. Microsoft describes a workspace as a collaborative container for related items. In Power BI, workspaces are used to store, organize and manage reports, dashboards, semantic models and other content.
Why do some containers not appear in my navigation pane?
Some containers may depend on licensing, tenant settings, role permissions, preview features or whether specific Fabric workloads are enabled.
How does this relate to Skald BI?