Text boxes

A text box puts text on a report page: a heading, a note, a list or a sentence with a live measure value inside it. Use one where a page needs words rather than a chart; for pictures, see Image tiles.

Add a text box to a page

Select Edit in the report header. It appears only when you can edit the report; saving and leaving edit mode are on Build a report.
In the Visualizations panel, pick Text box under Text & media. The picker labels its tile Text.
Type your text on the canvas. The tile starts as a draft and becomes part of the report when it is saved.
Add a live value wherever the text should show a number (below).
Select Done to leave edit mode.

Work with the text

The text is made of blocks: each paragraph, heading, bullet item and numbered item is one block. Headings come in levels 1, 2 and 3.
Text can be bold, italic, underlined or struck through. The report keeps one clean set of those marks, so a mark applied twice counts once.
Bullet and numbered items nest up to two levels deep. Headings and paragraphs sit flat.
Pieces of text beside each other with the same formatting join into one when the report is saved. A live value never joins with the text around it.

Insert a live value

A live value shows one measure's number inside the text.
The text box keeps the measures its live values use in one list. The list is rebuilt from the values on every edit, so adding a value adds its measure and removing the value takes it away.
A live value must point at a real measure. The save is refused for one that does not: ... textbox references measure "revenue", which is not a measure id (UUID). A live value naming a measure the report's model does not have is refused too: ... references measure "...", which the report's semantic model does not have.
A text box whose measure list and live values fall out of step is refused when you save it: ... measureIds do not match the measures its textbox references.
A live value can carry its own number format, such as the number of decimal places (up to 6) and the thousands separator. Value formats covers how number formats read.

Add a link

A text box keeps only http, https and mailto links, up to 2,048 characters. The scheme is read without regard to case.
javascript:, data: and vbscript: links, relative links and protocol-relative links are not kept.
An unsafe link blocks the save: ... links to "javascript:alert(1)"; only http, https and mailto links are allowed. Replace it with an http, https or mailto link.

Limits

What	Limit	Message past it
Blocks	200 per text box	... textbox holds 201 blocks; the limit is 200.
Characters	20,000 per text box	... textbox holds 20012 characters; the limit is 20000.
Measures in live values	20 per text box	... textbox references 21 measures; the limit is 20.

Past a limit the report reports the count: shorten the text, split it across two text boxes, or drop a live value.

What a text box does not do

It carries no chart fields: no wells, no sorts and no summaries. Its live values are the only data it reads.
It holds text only: a picture is a separate element, and its file comes from Report assets.

Questions, answered

Where do I add a text box?

In the Visualizations panel, under Text & media. It needs edit access to the report. The tile lands as a draft and becomes part of the report when it is saved; see Build a report.

Can I use headings and lists?

Yes. A paragraph, a heading (level 1, 2 or 3), a bullet item and a numbered item are each a block, and bullet and numbered items nest up to two levels deep.

Why did my formatted text merge into one piece?

Pieces of text beside each other with the same formatting are stored as one, and a mark applied twice counts once. A live value never merges, so the number stays separate from the sentence around it.

Can I put a measure value inside a sentence?

Yes, as a live value: it shows one measure's number inside the text. The text box keeps the measures its live values use in a list, rebuilt from the values on every edit.

What happens to a live value when I delete it from the text?

Its measure leaves the text box's list with it: the list is rebuilt from the live values on every edit, so a removed value stops counting.

Why was my link dropped?

A text box keeps only http, https and mailto links, up to 2,048 characters. javascript:, data:, vbscript:, relative and protocol-relative links are not kept, and an unsafe link blocks the save: ... links to "javascript:alert(1)"; only http, https and mailto links are allowed.

How long can a text box be?

Up to 200 blocks, 20,000 characters and 20 live-value measures. Past a limit the report reports the count: ... textbox holds 201 blocks; the limit is 200., ... textbox holds 20012 characters; the limit is 20000. or ... textbox references 21 measures; the limit is 20. Shorten the text, split it across two text boxes or drop a live value.

Why is my save refused?

Four sentences refuse it: an unsafe link (... links to "javascript:alert(1)"; only http, https and mailto links are allowed.), a live value that is not a real measure id (... textbox references measure "revenue", which is not a measure id (UUID).), a measure the model does not have (... references measure "...", which the report's semantic model does not have.), and a measure list out of step with the live values (... measureIds do not match the measures its textbox references.). Fix what the sentence names, then save again.

Does a text box read data?

Only through its live values: it carries no chart fields, so it has no wells, no sorts and no summaries. It also offers no data download of its own; for report exports, see Export reports and data.

Can I put a picture in a text box?

No. A text box holds text and live values only. A picture is its own element, an Image tile, and its file comes from Report assets.