This article will review how to use the Embedded Content section available on the Projects, Program, Portfolio, and Business Challenges dashboards.
The Embedded Content section allows embedding external links, videos, web pages, or documents to PPM Express dashboards. This section can also embed PPM Express Power BI Reports into the dashboards to access the required report easily.
Adding Embedded Content Section to Dashboards
To start embedding content to PPM Express dashboards, perform the following:
1. Open the required Project, Portfolio, Program, or Business Challenge -> Views and Layouts -> and add the Embedded Content section to any existing view or create a new view.
Please note: If you create a custom view with the Embedded Content section, the embedded content will be available on other projects when users apply this view. If the content is added to the Default view, it will only be visible for this project (per project).
Please note: To create or edit the default view, the user should be a Manager of the Project and have the Manage Configuration permission. For other views, it is required to have edit permission for the Project and Manage Configuration.
You can start embedding content when the section is added to the view. In this article, we will review how to embed two Power BI Reports, a custom report, a video, and a SharePoint document. But the process is very similar for other content.
Embedding Executive Report Pack
To embed the PPM Express Executive report to PPM Express, it is required to get its URL and paste it to the Embedded Content section. Most web applications and websites can be embedded only using a specially generated URL for embedding, not through a direct link. Power BI is one of them.
1. To find the URL for embedding the report, open the Power BI Executive Report Pack -> File menu -> Embed Report -> Website or Portal.
You can also choose the Publish to Web option. However, this is not a secure way to share the report; it will be visible to anyone with permission to view the PPM Express Project.
2. Copy the generated link to embed the content.
3. Open the PPM Express dashboard -> Embedded Content section -> Embed External Content button -> paste the link to the External Content section.
Type in the Alternative text if needed. It will be displayed only on the Configure Embedded Content page.
Specify the height of the embedded content to adjust the size of the Embedded Content section. Click Save.
4. Sign it to Power BI from the Embedded Content section.
5. Now, you can review the Power BI Executive Report from the PPM Express Project Dashboard directly.
The report is embedded in read-only mode. However, you can navigate to the report pages using the navigation below, use the export option, report controls, and filters.
You can also use the query string parameters to embed specific report details, such as one report page only, or prefilter the report to show specific data. For more details, please refer to the Query String Parameters section of this article.
Embedding Advanced Report Pack
To embed the PPM Express Advanced report to PPM Express, it is required to get its URL and paste it to the Embedded Content section. Most web applications and websites can be embedded only using a specially generated URL for embedding, not through a direct link. Power BI is one of them.
1. To find the URL for embedding the report, open the Power BI Advanced Report Pack -> File menu -> Embed Report -> Website or Portal.
You can also choose the Publish to Web option. However, this is not a secure way to share the report; it will be visible to anyone with permission to view the PPM Express Project.
2. Copy the generated link to embed the content.
3. Open the PPM Express dashboard -> Embedded Content section -> Embed External Content button -> paste the link to the External Content section.
Type in the Alternative text if needed. It will be displayed only on the Configure Embedded Content page.
Specify the height of the embedded content to adjust the size of the Embedded Content section. Click Save.
4. Sign it to Power BI from the Embedded Content section.
5. Now, you can review the Power BI Advanced Report from the PPM Express Project Dashboard directly.
The report is embedded in read-only mode. However, you can navigate to the report pages using the navigation below, use the export option, report controls, and filters.
You can also use the query string parameters to embed specific report details, such as one report page only, or prefilter the report to show specific data. For more details, please refer to the Query String Parameters section of this article.
Embedding Power BI Custom Reports
To embed the Power BI custom report to PPM Express, it is required to get its URL and paste it to the Embedded Content section. Most web applications and websites can be embedded only using a specially generated URL for embedding, not through a direct link. Power BI is one of them.
1. To find the URL for embedding the report, open the Power BI Custom Report Pack -> File menu -> Embed Report -> Website or Portal.
2. Copy the generated link to embed the content.
3. Open the PPM Express dashboard -> Embedded Content section -> Embed External Content button -> paste the link to the External Content section.
Type in the Alternative text if needed. It will be displayed only on the Configure Embedded Content page.
Specify the height of the embedded content to adjust the size of the Embedded Content section. Click Save.
4. Sign it to Power BI from the Embedded Content section.
5. Now, you can review the Power BI Custom Report from the PPM Express Project Dashboard directly.
The report is embedded in read-only mode. However, you can navigate to the report pages using the navigation below, use the export option, report controls, and filters.
You can also use the query string parameters to embed specific report details, such as one report page only, or prefilter the report to show specific data. For more details, please refer to the Query String Parameters section of this article.
Query String Parameters for Embedding Specific Report Details
By default, the embedded report will be fully added to the PPM Express Project section. However, suppose you need only one page of the report to be added or prefilter the report to show some specific data. In that case, you can add query string parameters to the initial embedded URL of the report.
We will review the process of embedding one report page and add the list of other available parameters that can be used in the same way below.
The basic syntax is relatively straightforward: start with the embedded report URL, add an ampersand (&) mark, add the syntax and the report ID.
For example, you need to add only one report page called Project Details to the Project section. Let's assume that the initial embedded URL (copied from the Embed Report -> Web Site Portal) is the following:
Add the &pageName= and the report page name and ID to this report's initial embedded URL.
URL&pageName=ReportSectionID
As a result, the whole URL will be similar to this one:
The report page ID can be copied from the report URL.
Open PPM Express -> Embedded Content section -> ellipsis button -> Configure and paste this URL with the parameter to the External Content field.
Please note: Manage Configuration permission is required to use the Configure option.
Click Save, and the report page will be added to the Embedded Content section.
Common query string parameters:
The query string parameters listed below are used the same way as we reviewed in the example of the specific report page parameter. To use these parameters, you need to add them to the initial embedded URL of this report (copied from the Embed Report -> Web Site Portal).
1. To show only a specific report or a report page (described above as an example).
&pageName=ReportSectionID
2. To hide the Navigation Content pane.
&navContentPaneEnabled=false
3. To hide the Filters pane.
&filterPaneEnabled=false
4. To enable the Action Bar (please note that some actions may not work in the embedded report version).
&actionBarEnabled=true
5. To apply filters to the report by any field and its values. A few filters may be applied.
&filter=Table/Field eq 'value'
E.g., to filter the report by project ID to show data only for that project:
&filter=Projects/Id eq ‘ ’ 
Adding a filter by a few field values and multiple fields is possible. Additionally, different operators besides eq (equals) may be used.
The mentioned query string parameters may be combined in the URL. For instance, the embed URL to the specific report page, with the filter by Project ID, hidden Filters, and Navigation Content, looks like:
Please refer to the following article to learn more about query string parameters: Service URL filters.
Please note: If the URL parameters, names, or values contain spaces or special characters that require escape codes, they must be replaced before pasting the URL for embedding. To do this, open the URL in the browser so that it replaces the characters and spaces. Then, copy the ready-to-use URL from the browser address bar.
Embedding external sites, documents, videos, etc
To embed content to PPM Express dashboards -> Embedded Content section, perform the following:
1. Open the required Project, Portfolio, Program, or Business Challenge -> Views and Layouts -> and add the Embedded Content section to any existing view or create a new view.
For example, we will add the report to the Project dashboard, but the Embedded Content section works similarly for all other dashboards.
Please note: If you create a custom view with the Embedded Content section, the embedded content will be available on other projects when users apply this view. If the content is added to the Default view, it will only be visible for this project (per project).
Please note: To create or edit views, the user should be a Manager of the Project and have the Manage Configuration permission.
2. If you need to embed any site, copy its URL and paste it to the Embedded Content section. Let's take PPM Express Help Site as an example.
Click Save, and the site will become available from the Project Dashboard.
3. If the site does not allow the embedding of the URL, you can use a specific embedded option from the required site instead.
For example, to embed a video from Vimeo, find the Share option -> Embed -> copy only the link from the embedded code. Open PPM Express and paste the link to the Embedded Content section. The video will be available from the Project section directly.
Please note: If you get the 'Invalid URL..' error, this may be because of the spaces in the URL. In this case, you can paste the URL or embedded code into the browser and copy it from the browser (in the browser link all spaces will be replaced).
4. To share the SharePoint document, open it in the browser -> File -> Share -> Embed -> From the embedded code, copy only the URL. Paste it to the PPM Expres Embedded Content section.
