Tutorial
Power BI Page Size and Canvas Reference: Every Preset in Pixels
TL;DR
Power BI's default page is 16:9: 1920×1080 pixels for new pages in a report on the Fluent 2 base theme (the default for new reports), 1280×720 in Classic and older reports. Canvas settings (Format page) also offer 4:3 (960×720), Letter (816×1056), Tooltip (320×240) and Custom. For 16:9, a Size dropdown now offers 1280×720, 1920×1080, 2560×1440 and 3840×2160. Visual positions are stored in canvas pixels, so design backgrounds and layouts at the page size (or exactly 2×). Since the March 2026 theme schema, a theme can also set the default size for new pages.
Page size is the first design decision in a Power BI report and the hardest to change later, because every visual's position and size is stored in canvas pixels. This reference lists every preset, explains how page size relates to what viewers actually see, and gives a quick way to choose.
Where page size lives
Click an empty part of the canvas so nothing is selected. The Visualizations pane shows Format page. Expand Canvas settings: Type sets the aspect ratio, Size (for standard ratios) picks the resolution, and Vertical alignment chooses Top or Middle for how the canvas sits in the window.
In current Desktop builds, the Design ribbon has a Page size button that opens the same card, next to Page background and Wallpaper.
Page size is set per page, so a report can mix a 16:9 overview, a Letter page for printing and Tooltip pages for hover details.
Every preset in pixels
16:9 (default): widescreen. Size presets are 1280 × 720 (HD, the default in Classic and older reports), 1920 × 1080 (Full HD, the default for new pages in Fluent 2 reports), 2560 × 1440 (QHD) and 3840 × 2160 (4K UHD). All share the 1.78:1 ratio.
4:3: 960 × 720. The older presentation ratio, useful for projectors and embedding into 4:3 slide templates.
Letter: 816 × 1056, portrait. That's 8.5 × 11 inches at 96 pixels per inch, which is why it prints and exports to PDF cleanly on US Letter paper.
Tooltip: 320 × 240. A small canvas for report tooltip pages that appear when hovering a data point. Tooltip pages can be any size, but this template is a good default.
Custom: any width and height in pixels. Use it for tall scrolling pages, ultra-wide wall displays or pages sized for a specific embed.
The phone layout is separate. Each page can have a mobile-optimised view, built in View > Mobile layout, that the Power BI mobile apps show in portrait orientation. It reuses the page's visuals on its own phone-sized canvas; in a browser, viewers always see the standard page.
Page size vs what viewers see
The canvas size is not the size on screen. Page view controls scaling: Fit to page (the default) scales the whole page to fit the window, Fit to width scales to the window width and scrolls vertically, and Actual size shows it pixel for pixel.
So a 1280 × 720 page on a 2560 × 1440 monitor in Fit to page is shown at roughly double size. Visuals render as vectors and stay sharp, but bitmap images (backgrounds, logos, icon PNGs) are upscaled. That's the reason to export background images at 2× the canvas size.
A larger page isn't more space for free. A 1920 × 1080 page shown on a 1280-wide laptop is scaled down to about two-thirds, so 10 pt text renders like 6.7 pt. If you go bigger, raise font sizes in the theme to match: a 12-13 pt label on 1920 × 1080 reads like 8-9 pt on 1280 × 720.
Choosing a size: a quick decision guide
Most reports: 16:9, at the size the report already uses. New Fluent 2 reports give you 1920 × 1080; Classic and older reports are 1280 × 720, which still matches laptops and screen sharing and is what most templates and background galleries were drawn at (VizForge exports both sizes).
Wall displays and control rooms viewed from across the room: 1920 × 1080 with larger fonts, fewer visuals and bigger cards.
Dense analytical pages for large monitors: 1920 × 1080 can fit more, but check it on the smallest screen your audience uses.
Printing or PDF export for US Letter: Letter, 816 × 1056.
Long-form pages people scroll (for example a monthly narrative report): Custom, keeping 1280 width and increasing height, with Fit to width page view so viewers scroll vertically.
Embedding in a portal with a fixed frame: Custom at the frame's dimensions.
Hover details: Tooltip, 320 × 240, then View > Page view > Actual size to see it as viewers will.
Set the default size in a theme
Teams that standardise on 1920 × 1080 used to change every new page by hand. Microsoft's theme schema README notes that from the March 2026 release (schema 2.152), the default canvas size is inherited from the theme settings, and Learn's page size article confirms a theme can set the default page size. It applies to new pages only; existing pages keep their size.
In the theme, page size is the pageSize card of the page visual type. pageSizeTypes takes Widescreen (16:9), Standard (4:3), Letter, Tooltip or Custom, with pageSizeWidth and pageSizeHeight in pixels. The snippet below makes new pages 1920 × 1080; the property names are from reportThemeSchema-2.159.json, the October 2026 schema.
theme excerpt: default page size
"visualStyles": {
"page": {
"*": {
"pageSize": [{ "pageSizeTypes": "Custom", "pageSizeWidth": 1920, "pageSizeHeight": 1080 }],
"displayArea": [{ "verticalAlignment": "Middle" }]
}
}
}Changing size on an existing page
Changing the size of a page that already has visuals doesn't move or resize them. Going from 1280 × 720 to 1920 × 1080 leaves every visual in the top-left two-thirds of the canvas; going smaller can leave visuals hanging off the edge.
If you must change size, scale every visual's X, Y, width and height by the same factor (1.5 for 1280 to 1920). In a PBIR project this is a scripted change to each visual.json's position block, which is much faster than dragging. Then re-export the background at the new size; don't let Power BI stretch the old image.
Pixel math for layouts
With a 24 px outer margin and 16 px gutters on 1280 × 720, the usable width is 1232 px. Four equal cards are 296 px wide; three are 400 px; two are 608 px. A 64 px header plus a 16 px gutter puts the KPI row at y = 104.
On 1920 × 1080, scale everything by 1.5: 36 px margin, 24 px gutters, a 96 px header.
Keep visual edges on multiples of 8 and you can reproduce a layout on any page by arithmetic. The VizForge Design Studio canvas uses Power BI's page presets directly with an 8 px snapping grid, so positions you design are positions you get in Power BI, and its PBIP export writes them straight into visual.json.
FAQ
What is the default Power BI page size?
16:9. New pages in a Fluent 2 report are 1920 × 1080 pixels; Classic and older reports use 1280 × 720.
What are the Power BI page size options?
16:9 (with size presets 1280 × 720, 1920 × 1080, 2560 × 1440 and 3840 × 2160), 4:3 (960 × 720), Letter (816 × 1056), Tooltip (320 × 240) and Custom (any width and height).
Should I use 1920 × 1080 instead of 1280 × 720?
New Fluent 2 reports already give you 1920 × 1080, and that suits large screens and wall displays. On laptops a 1920 × 1080 page is scaled down and text gets small, so if you move an older 1280 × 720 layout up, increase theme font sizes by about 1.5×.
Does changing page size move my visuals?
No. Visuals keep their pixel positions and sizes, so you need to reposition or rescale them after changing the page size.
What size is a Power BI tooltip page?
The Tooltip page type is 320 × 240 pixels. Tooltip pages can be any size, but they appear over the report, so keep them small.
Sources
- Microsoft Learn: Apply page size and settings in a Power BI report
- Microsoft Learn: Create report tooltips in Power BI
- Microsoft Learn: Create mobile-optimized Power BI reports
- GitHub: Report Theme JSON Schema README (default canvas size fix, 2.152)
Related reading
Built-in 16:9, 1080p, 4:3 and Letter presets with an 8 px grid.
Open a blank studio page at any canvas size, custom included.
Backgrounds exported at the exact canvas size.
1280 × 720 layouts that open as PBIP projects.
Exact export sizes and setup for every page type.
Grids, gutters and the three-band layout.
Script visual positions after a page size change.
The 2026 base theme and what it changes for page size.
Fit vs Fill vs Normal with sizes per canvas.
About the author
Nawaf Sharaf · Founder & Reliability Engineer
Nawaf is a reliability engineer and long-time Power BI practitioner, and the founder of VizForge. He builds the product solo — the AI generation pipeline, the visual code generator, and this site — from the perspective of someone who has spent years shipping Power BI reports in production.
Cite this article as:
VizForge. “Power BI Page Size and Canvas Reference: Every Preset in Pixels.” November 4, 2026. https://vizforge.ai/blog/power-bi-page-size-canvas